The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, said digital cross-border payment systems could transform developing economies but warned that weak regulation may expose them to financial instability.
Mr Cardoso highlighted this while delivering a plenary address at the G-24 Technical Group Meetings held Thursday in Abuja.
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At the meetings, policymakers gathered to discuss financing strategies for sustainable and inclusive growth.
“At the heart of this transformation lies a simple, yet powerful truth: an economy cannot be more inclusive than its payment system,” Mr Cardoso said, noting that barriers to moving money across borders continue to exclude millions from global commerce.
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He described inefficiencies in cross-border payments as a macroeconomic challenge for developing countries, citing high remittance costs, foreign exchange charges, and settlement delays.
“Today, cross-border payments remain too slow, too costly, and too fragmented, especially for developing economies,” he said, adding that global remittance corridors still cost over six per cent on average.
Digital opportunity
The governor said digital innovation, including instant payment systems, interoperable platforms and digital identity frameworks present an opportunity to reduce costs, improve transparency and expand access to formal finance for households and small businesses.
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He pointed to examples such as India’s Unified Payments Interface and Brazil’s PIX system, which have accelerated real-time settlements and reduced transaction costs.
According to him, Nigeria has taken deliberate steps to modernise its payment infrastructure.
Mr Cardoso disclosed that the CBN is concluding work on its Payment System Vision 2028, aimed at strengthening resilience, boosting innovation and advancing financial inclusion.
In June 2025, Nigeria launched the National Payment Stack, a real-time payment system built on ISO 20022 messaging standards and designed to support multi-currency and cross-border transactions.
The apex bank has also simplified Know-Your-Customer requirements for low-value cross-border transactions to encourage participation in the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), easing trade payments for small and medium-scale enterprises.
On diaspora inflows, Mr Cardoso said reforms introduced new instruments such as the Non-Resident Nigerian Ordinary Account and the Non-Resident Nigerian Investment Account.
“As a result of these reforms, remittance inflows now average about $600 million per month, and we are confident of reaching a $1 billion monthly milestone in the near term,” he noted.
Fiscal pressures highlighted
Mr Cardoso also commended the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Chair of the G-24, Wale Edun, for articulating a reform agenda centred on modernising global finance and strengthening domestic institutional capacity across developing economies.
“These priorities resonate deeply with the mandate of central banks across the G-24 countries,” he said.
Despite the optimism, the CBN governor cautioned that digital cross-border systems could introduce new vulnerabilities if not properly regulated.
He warned that the rapid expansion of private digital payment platforms and stablecoins raises concerns about currency substitution, foreign exchange volatility, regulatory fragmentation and weakened monetary policy transmission.
“Without coordination, digital cross-border payments risk becoming fragmented across jurisdictions… undermining the ability of emerging market and developing economies to safeguard monetary sovereignty,” he said.
He stressed that central banks must remain at the centre of payment system reforms, safeguarding monetary and financial stability while modernising infrastructure.
“Our responsibilities include safeguarding monetary and financial stability, modernising payment and settlement systems, and anchoring trust,” he said.
Mr Cardoso added that success should not be measured solely by speed and lower costs but by whether reforms preserve stability, strengthen resilience and include developing economies in global rule-setting.
“To shape the future of global finance, rather than be shaped by it,” he said, “digital cross-border payments must become a public good.”
He noted that Nigeria remains committed to working with fellow G-24 members, the IMF and the World Bank to build a more inclusive and development-oriented global financial system.
In his remarks, Mr Edun warned that rising debt service obligations are tightening fiscal space across the Global South, with many low-income countries either in or approaching debt distress.
He noted that annual debt servicing payments by developing countries now exceed combined inflows of official development assistance and foreign direct investment from advanced economies.
The minister described the meeting as an opportunity to reshape the development trajectory of emerging markets at a time when global risks are converging faster than institutions can respond.
Heightened Uncertainty
Earlier, the Director and Head of the G-24 Secretariat, Iyabo Masha, said member countries were meeting at a time of heightened uncertainty and tightening policy space.
“We meet at a moment of measured resilience but constrained ambition in the global economy,” she said.
She also noted that many emerging market and developing economies must consolidate fiscally, protect social spending, invest in climate resilience and manage rising debt burdens.
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Ms Masha warned that growing fiscal-financial linkages are constraining fiscal space in several countries, with debt service absorbing an increasing share of government revenues.
She also stressed that reform of the Bretton Woods institutions has become more urgent, calling for a more inclusive and responsive global financial architecture.
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