Nigeria is already a digital payments powerhouse, but corporate identity and seamless cross-border systems remain the missing links to fully unlock the AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol (DTP).

Nigeria’s digital economy has expanded rapidly, underpinned by explosive growth in digital payments, digital identity systems and evolving data governance frameworks. These now form the foundational digital public infrastructure essential for secure, efficient and scalable digital trade.

The report, based on desk research, stakeholder roundtables in Abuja and Lagos, and a targeted survey of ecosystem actors, examines Nigeria’s digital payments and identity ecosystems in direct relation to the AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol. Adopted in February 2024 and expanded with annexes in 2025, the DTP identifies payment interoperability, ID assurance, cross-border data governance and fintech oversight as core enablers of digital trade across the continent.

While Nigeria has made impressive strides in retail digital payments and individual ID systems (over 121 million NINs and 66 million BVNs), business-to-business (B2B) cross-border payments and corporate digital identity remain significantly underdeveloped. These gaps are currently restricting Nigeria’s ability to operationalise the AfCFTA provisions on interoperability, automated verification, digital trade standards and seamless cross-border payments.

Nigeria’s Digital Payments & Identity Ecosystem

Scale and Growth

• Mobile money transactions grew 272% from 1.93 billion in 2022 to 7.18 billion in H1 2024.
• Personal remittances reached $20.93 billion in 2024 (up 8.9% year-on-year).
• International money transfer operator inflows hit $4.73 billion in 2024 (up 43.5%).
• Nigeria leads Africa in PAPSS participation (22 banks connected).

Private Sector Players: A dynamic innovation layer of commercial banks, fintechs (Flutterwave, Paystack, OPay, Moniepoint, Remita), mobile money operators, switching companies (NIBSS, Interswitch), card schemes and digital ID providers (SmileID, VerifyMe, YouVerify). These actors rely heavily on API-driven systems but report frequent integration failures.

Public Sector Stakeholders: Fragmented but powerful: Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Nigeria Data Protection Commission, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), EFCC, NFIU and trade ministries. Overlapping mandates create coordination challenges.

Corporate Identity Gap Individual IDs are advancing rapidly, but corporate identifiers remain fragmented across CAC registration, tax IDs, SCUML, D-U-N-S, SAM and others. Globally recognised LEIs have extremely low adoption. This “noodle bowl” of IDs prevents straight-through processing and automated know-your-business (KYB) checks.

Major Challenges

1. Fragmented Corporate ID Systems – Multiple overlapping registries slow verification and raise costs.
2. Verification & Compliance Delays – Compliance (not payment rails) is the biggest source of cross-border friction.
3. Low Adoption of Cross-Border Identifiers – Almost no SME uptake of LEI or African Entity Identifier (AEI).
4. High Costs & Bottlenecks for SMEs – Average remittance costs of 8.29%, FX constraints, manual documentation and repeated checks.
5. Limited Awareness & Governance Coordination – 71% of firms are unfamiliar with the AfCFTA DTP; no single coordinating body for ID, payments and digital trade strategy.

Key Opportunities

• Pan-African Payment Leadership – Leverage real-time domestic rails and PAPSS to anchor continental integration.
• Identity-Enabled Compliance – Link NIN, BVN, CAC and regional IDs to strengthen KYB and reduce fraud.
• SME Inclusion – Digital wallets, mobile money and simplified PAPSS corridors can bring 96% of Nigerian firms into formal cross-border trade.
• API Interoperability – Widespread adoption of API-based systems can support automated compliance once standards are harmonised.

Actionable Recommendations

Domestic Reforms

• Corporate ID Integration – Connect CAC, NIMC, FIRS, EFCC and financial institutions to create reusable, consent-based corporate credentials.
• Scale PAPSS & SME Payments – Improve automation, expand fintech access, review low-value thresholds, simplify FX processes and introduce risk-based verification.
• Enhance Interoperability – Align API standards, assurance frameworks and data-sharing protocols with international best practice; leverage AEI where relevant.
• Support SMEs – Provide simplified cross-border onboarding guidance, strengthen consumer and data protection enforcement, and expand awareness through trade associations.

Continental Alignment

• Mutual Recognition of Digital Identities – Promote frameworks that reduce duplication while protecting privacy and enabling secure data exchange.
• Payment Connectivity – Expand direct access to continental rails and reduce reliance on correspondent banking.
• Regulatory Passporting – Establish passporting arrangements with AfCFTA partners to harmonise oversight and speed up integration.
• Cross-Border Data Flows – Use Nigeria’s NDPA 2023 and GAID to negotiate data adequacy arrangements for lawful, automated KYB and payment processing.

Implications for AfCFTA Implementation

Nigeria’s challenge is not a lack of infrastructure; it is misalignment across identity, payments and governance. With effective reforms, the AfCFTA DTP could increase Nigeria’s GDP by up to 12.8% and expand exports by nearly 60%.

Africa International Trade & Commerce Research (ITRC) is proud to have contributed local expertise, stakeholder engagement and policy insights to this landmark study alongside ODI Global, AfriBorder and Kickoff Africa. As a leading voice on African trade and integration, ITRC remains committed to translating this research into practical, actionable solutions that help Nigerian businesses and policymakers thrive under the AfCFTA.

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For partnership and more enquiries, contact: info@it-rc.org