Nigeria’s buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) market is increasingly moving beyond a payment option, with transaction and repayment data emerging as potentially valuable inputs for assessing consumers and small businesses with limited traditional credit histories.
B2B BNPL payments in Nigeria were projected to grow 32.7% in 2025 to about $1.40 billion, according to market research firm PayNXT360. The market is forecast to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 20.4% between 2026 and 2030, reaching about $3.71 billion by 2030.
Platforms such as TradeDepot, Sabi and Moniepoint have helped integrate deferred-payment and embedded-credit products into digital commerce and distribution networks. Such platforms can generate transaction and repayment records that may support lenders’ underwriting decisions, although participation in BNPL does not automatically mean every transaction is reported to a credit bureau.
The expansion is taking place alongside tighter oversight of digital lending. The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) issued the Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations 2025 (DEON Regulations), establishing requirements around consumer protection, transparency and responsible lending.
Implementation was temporarily suspended in April 2026 following a Federal High Court order arising from a legal challenge by the Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria (WASPAN).
However, the regulatory position has since changed. On July 20, 2026, the Federal High Court dismissed WASPAN’s challenge, after which the FCCPC announced the resumption of implementation and enforcement of the DEON Regulations. WASPAN has indicated that it is challenging the ruling on appeal.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s credit-bureau infrastructure is expanding. FirstCentral Credit Bureau, the country’s first licensed credit bureau, provides credit-reporting and credit-information services to businesses and individuals. CRC Credit Bureau says it has more than 2,000 member institutions and maintains a large repository of credit records covering individuals and businesses.
For borrowers, the growing digital-credit ecosystem could create opportunities to build a stronger formal credit profile where providers report relevant borrowing and repayment information to credit bureaus. Conversely, missed payments could negatively affect credit assessments where such information is reported.
As digital commerce expands, BNPL is therefore becoming more than a checkout facility. Its transaction and repayment data could become an increasingly important component of Nigeria’s evolving formal credit infrastructure.
