The Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA), through its Inclusion for All (I4All) initiative, has concluded consumer protection sensitisation dialogues in Mani and Malumfashi Local Government Areas of Katsina State, reaching over 1,000 residents in a bid to deepen trust in financial services and improve financial literacy.
The engagements, held on April 25 and 26, brought together community members, local officials, traditional and religious leaders, financial service providers, and regulators to discuss consumer rights, fraud prevention, complaint resolution, and safe use of financial services.
The initiative followed findings from earlier community engagements and a baseline survey, which showed low awareness of consumer rights, limited knowledge of complaint channels, and declining trust in financial institutions among rural populations.
Hajiya Bilkisu Suleiman Ibrahim, Special Adviser to the Katsina State Governor on Banking and Finance, emphasised the importance of financial inclusion, saying, “Access to affordable and reliable financial services is important, especially for women, youth, vulnerable groups, and people living in underserved communities.”
She added that financial inclusion helps communities improve livelihoods and supports economic development, while urging small businesses in Mani to take advantage of available financing opportunities.
Chinasa Collins-Ogbuo, Head of Inclusion for All, said the sessions went beyond awareness campaigns.
“When communities can sit across from the institutions that regulate their financial lives, ask hard questions, and get straight answers, something shifts. That shift is exactly what I4All exists to create,” she added.
Key discussions at the forums focused on agency banking, ATM transaction disputes, fraud awareness, BVN protection, and the role of POS agents in expanding access to financial services.
EFInA said post-event assessments in Malumfashi showed significant improvement in awareness and trust. Participants who rated their understanding of consumer rights as “very clear” rose from 80 before the event to 331 afterwards, while 349 of 354 respondents said their trust in regulators had improved.
The sessions also revealed persistent concerns, including fraudulent credit empowerment schemes, identity-based loan fraud, and unresolved transaction disputes.
Uchenna Enyioha, I4All Manager, said the findings show that access to financial services alone is insufficient.
“The deeper question is whether those services are trusted, safe, understandable, and responsive when things go wrong,” he said, adding that these realities influence whether rural users embrace formal financial services.
EFInA said insights from the engagements would shape future policy discussions with regulators and industry stakeholders.