The Ameh News Editorial: PSV 2028; CBN’s Endless Payment Visions or Another Burden for Banks to Carry?

At The Ameh News, we can no longer ignore a troubling tradition at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Every governor arrives with a “new vision” for the payments system,  PSV 2020, PSV 2025, and now PSV 2028. Each one is rolled out with fanfare, branded as a national assignment, and sold as the cure for Nigeria’s financial inefficiencies. But behind the glossy launch statements lies an uncomfortable truth: these visions often serve as recycled blueprints that shift the burden of execution onto banks and financial operators who are already stretched thin.

Let us be clear: PSV 2028 promises inclusion, innovation, and competitiveness. On paper, it looks like another grand leap forward. Mr. Musa Itopa Jimoh, Director of the Payments System Policy Department, assures us it will make Nigeria’s digital economy globally competitive. Yet history teaches us to be cautious. With every “vision,” compliance obligations multiply, levies deepen, and agencies like NDIC and AMCON swoop in with fresh demands. The result? Banks, the same institutions tasked with implementing these lofty blueprints, are left gasping under the weight of regulatory ambition and fiscal extractions.

So we ask: is PSV 2028 truly about building a future-ready system, or just another cycle where regulators write the scripts and banks foot the bill?

Why It Matters

Nigeria’s payments system is indeed a continental success story, but progress is fragile. The same system celebrated for fintech innovation is also groaning under the strain of regulatory overreach. PSV 2028 matters because it could either solidify Nigeria’s digital leadership or accelerate fatigue in a sector that is being asked to do too much, too fast, with too little support.

More importantly, the CBN has a duty of accountability. Before announcing new frameworks, the bank should publish transparent reports on the achievements and shortfalls of previous visions. What exactly did PSV 2020 deliver beyond slogans? Did PSV 2025 meet its inclusion targets? Were interoperability gaps closed? These questions remain unanswered. Nigerians are being asked to celebrate new visions without ever being shown how the old ones fared. Without proof of progress, PSV 2028 risks being dismissed as just another grand announcement in a long cycle of unfinished business.

Industry Reactions

• Fintech leaders are optimistic, seeing fresh opportunities to scale. They speak of rural inclusion and seamless interoperability.
• Bank executives, however, speak with barely concealed frustration. “Every vision eats into our margins,” one CEO admitted. “Innovation is welcome, but it shouldn’t come at the cost of our survival.”
• Policy analysts are even more direct: PSV 2028 is meaningless if it repeats the same extractive cycle that weakens the very institutions it relies on, and if it does not clearly account for what previous visions have achieved.

The contrast is glaring. Those who dream welcome the blueprint; those who must execute fear its consequences.

What’s Next

If the CBN is serious, PSV 2028 must break tradition. It must be more than another powerpoint-perfect framework that leaves banks drained. Clear and achievable targets are needed. Levies must be reviewed. Stakeholders must be genuinely engaged, not just used as rubber stamps.

And most crucially, the CBN must institutionalize transparency: highlight each level of PSV achievements before moving to the next. Nigerians deserve to know whether PSV 2020 and PSV 2025 actually delivered what was promised. Without this accountability, PSV 2028 will not inspire confidence, it will only deepen skepticism.

For once, the apex bank must prove it can deliver a vision that lifts the industry instead of feeding off it. Otherwise, PSV 2028 will go down as just another chapter in the long history of regulatory recycling, lofty promises for the public, heavier costs for the banks, and very little to show in the end.

At The Ameh News, our position is clear: Nigeria needs innovation, inclusion, and global competitiveness. But true progress will only come when regulators match their visionary blueprints with measurable results,  and stop treating the banking sector as a bottomless pocket for financing their ambitions.