Bridging the Gap: Exploring the Role of FinTech in Advancing Financial Inclusion in Nigeria

Uduak Udo¹ , Augustine Okon Jacob²

Section:Review Paper, Product Type: Journal-Paper
Vol.13 , Issue.1 , pp.22-34, Mar-2025

Online published on Mar 31, 2025

Copyright © Udo Uduak Udo, Augustine Okon Jacob . This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
 

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Abstract :
Financial technology (FinTech) has emerged as a transformative force in bridging financial inclusion gaps, particularly in developing economies like Nigeria. Despite significant progress, millions of Nigerians remain excluded from formal financial systems due to infrastructural, socio-economic, and institutional barriers. This review explores the evolution of FinTech in Nigeria, its role in enhancing financial inclusion, and the theoretical and empirical underpinnings guiding this transformation. The aim is to identify how FinTech solutions can address systemic challenges and assess gaps in existing literature for future research directions. Results reveal that FinTech innovations, including mobile banking, digital payments, and micro-lending platforms, have significantly improved financial access for underserved populations. However, barriers such as digital literacy, regulatory constraints, and infrastructure deficits limit broader adoption. The discussion highlights the importance of demand-side factors, such as user trust and gender dynamics, and the interplay between FinTech and complementary infrastructure like digital identity systems and internet penetration. The conclusion underscores that while FinTech holds immense potential for advancing financial inclusion, its success in Nigeria requires targeted policy frameworks, stakeholder collaboration, and adaptive innovations tailored to local contexts. The novelty of this review lies in its integration of empirical findings with theoretical insights, identifying unexplored areas such as gender-sensitive FinTech solutions, environmental sustainability, and long-term socioeconomic impacts.

Key-Words / Index Term :
Digital banking, Financial Inclusion, Financial Technology, FinTech innovation, Nigeria

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