In Nigeria, the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence in fintech reveals less of a race for innovation than a pragmatic response to exploding risks. Companies are now primarily using it to combat fraud. However, obstacles remain.  

Approximately 87.5% of Nigerian fintech companies use artificial intelligence (AI) for fraud detection, according to a survey published by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

These figures are included in the Fintech Report 2025, published on Monday, February 2, 2026, as part of the Central Bank’s Policy Insight series. The report is based on a national survey of industry stakeholders, a closed-door workshop held in June 2025, and a roundtable discussion in October.

Fraud detection appears to be the main use case for AI, far ahead of other applications such as customer service or credit risk assessment.

According to the report, 62.5% of the fintech companies surveyed use AI-powered chatbots for customer relations, while 37.5% use them for credit scoring and risk modeling. The same proportion applies AI to customer onboarding and Know Your Customer (KYC) processes. 12.5% ​​of the surveyed companies stated that they are not currently using AI.

“AI is widely adopted in Nigerian fintech, primarily for risk management and operational efficiency. Fraud is a major problem for the sector,” the report emphasizes, describing this phenomenon as a “major industry challenge” during discussions between regulators and operators.

Rapid growth under pressure 

These findings come amid a surge in digital financial services. In Nigeria, financial institutions processed nearly 11 billion instant payment transactions in 2024, more than double the volume recorded in 2022, placing the market among the most active real-time payment markets in the world.

But the central bank warns that this accelerated digitization is expanding the risk surface of the financial system. Fraud, insufficient internal controls in some high-growth companies, and cross-border financial crime remain concerns, despite strengthened anti-money laundering measures and the country’s recent removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list.

Interest in a regulated AI 

Despite the emphasis on combating fraud, according to the document, fintech companies express a strong appetite for a wider deployment of AI, provided they benefit from a clearer regulatory framework.

Nearly 62.5% of respondents said they were very interested in participating in a regulatory sandbox dedicated to AI, while 75% prioritized the ethical and transparent use of these technologies in credit and risk management decisions.

The report estimates that, as AI becomes a central tool in financial services, supervisory and governance capabilities will need to evolve at the same pace.

Persistent obstacles

Fintech companies, however, identify several obstacles to the large-scale adoption of AI. A lack of technical talent and regulatory uncertainty are cited by 37.5% of companies as major barriers.

Furthermore, 50% of respondents believe that access to quality data and suitable infrastructure is the most critical condition for developing AI, and highlight the role of public digital infrastructure, such as digital identity and data sharing frameworks.

Source: Agence Ecofin