Sanusi: I Regret Delaying Telcos’ Entry Into Financial Services

Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Muhammadu Sanusi II, has admitted that one of his regrets in office was delaying the entry of telecommunications companies into Nigeria’s financial services sector.

Sanusi, who is now the Emir of Kano, made the disclosure on Wednesday at the launch of the 2026 Access to Financial Services in Nigeria (A2F) Survey by Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA) in Abuja.

Reflecting on his tenure as CBN governor, Sanusi said telcos already possessed the infrastructure, technology and extensive reach that could have helped accelerate financial inclusion, particularly among underserved and rural communities.

“One of my regrets as CBN governor was delaying telcos’ entry into financial services.”

He explained that his position at the time was influenced by concerns over the safety of depositors’ funds, particularly following Nigeria’s banking crisis.

Sanusi said he was uncomfortable allowing companies outside the CBN’s primary regulatory oversight to gain access to large pools of customers’ funds.

With the benefit of hindsight, however, he said subsequent developments in fintech and mobile financial services demonstrated the potential role telcos could have played much earlier.

“I do think if I had allowed that to happen, there would have been much more progress,” he said, according to reports of the event.

Beyond bank accounts
Sanusi also argued that financial inclusion should not be measured simply by the number of Nigerians who have bank accounts or can transfer money.

According to him, opening an account and moving money does not necessarily translate into economic empowerment or poverty reduction.

He called for financial services to be more closely connected to the real economy, including agriculture, manufacturing and other productive sectors.

He cited the example of farmers in Kano, arguing that financial inclusion should create stronger connections between producers, markets and manufacturers.

The telco-fintech convergence
Sanusi’s comments highlight the transformation of Nigeria’s financial ecosystem over the past decade, as telecommunications infrastructure, fintech platforms and digital payments have increasingly converged.

Telcos possess extensive distribution networks and mobile infrastructure reaching millions of Nigerians, including people who remain underserved by conventional banking institutions.

His reflection also comes as Nigeria continues to pursue deeper digital financial inclusion, with fintechs and mobile-based financial services increasingly playing a role in extending access beyond traditional banking channels.

For Sanusi, the lesson from his earlier decision is that regulatory caution, even when driven by legitimate concerns around consumer and depositor protection, can sometimes have unintended consequences for innovation and access.

The former CBN governor’s admission therefore offers a rare look back at one of the major regulatory decisions that shaped the evolution of Nigeria’s digital financial services landscape.