The Nigeria Data Protection Commission, in collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and KPMG, is developing open banking frameworks in a move to deepen financial inclusion.

The Chief Executive Officer of the NDPC, Vincent Olatunji, on Tuesday, received the Senior Programme Officer for Regulatory and Consumer Protection Technologies at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Anna Wallace and Partner and Head of Cybersecurity and Privacy at KPMG, John Anyanwu in Abuja.

The commission revealed in a statement on X (formerly Twitter) that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss open banking frameworks for Nigeria, a project coordinated by the Gates Foundation.

Open banking refers to the practice of providing third-party financial service providers with access to bank account information, transaction data, and other financial data through the use of application programming interfaces.

It stated that the meeting served as a pivotal moment in recognising NDPC’s crucial role in the project and formalising engagement to ensure robust input in the areas of data protection and privacy.

Part of the statement read, “NDPC emphasised the crucial role of digital identity in the financial sector and open banking, stressing the importance of implementing measures to safeguard digital identities to foster trust and confidence.”

The NDPC CEO also addressed challenges posed by digital lending companies regarding transparency in their data processing activities.

He noted that the commission was already working with other stakeholders to tackle those challenges.

He highlighted the misconception among some banks regarding the roles of a chief information security officer and a data protection officer, emphasising the legal requirement for all data controllers to have a DPO.

Financial inclusion refers to providing banking and financial services to individuals, aiming to include everyone in society by offering basic financial services like savings, credit, payments, and insurance.

Nigeria’s financial inclusion rate increased from 30 per cent in 2010 to 74 per cent in 2023, according to the Access to Finance survey conducted by Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access.

However, this still leaves 26 per cent of adults, or 28.8 million people, financially excluded.

Overall, while progress has been made, significantly more work is needed to achieve Nigeria’s goal of 95 per cent financial inclusion by 2024.

Concerted efforts by the government, financial institutions, and other stakeholders will be crucial to expanding access to useful and affordable financial services for all Nigerians.