At its 307th meeting in September 2026, the Central Bank of Nigeria reduced the Monetary Policy Rate from 26.5% to 23% and recalibrated the standing facilities corridor to strengthen monetary policy transmission. The decision sits within a wider CBN programme to make foreign exchange transactions more transparent and cross-border payments more reliable for Nigerian businesses.

Hakama Sidi-Ali, CBN’s director for Stakeholder Engagement and Institutional Relations, presented the reform agenda on Thursday. She addressed the CBN Special Day during the ongoing 40th Lagos International Trade Fair, organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The CBN has identified cross-border payment bottlenecks and foreign exchange transaction processes as priority reform areas. The goal is to improve Nigerian businesses’ participation in regional and international trade. Four initiatives address those constraints.

• 2026 Foreign Exchange Manual: Modernises the framework for foreign exchange transactions, with particular attention to trade documentation, export transactions and cross-border payments.
• Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System: EFEMS supports the CBN’s drive for more transparent foreign exchange transactions.
• Nigerian FX Code: Reinforces a transparent, rules-based foreign exchange market and stronger market conduct.
• Pan-African Payment and Settlement System: PAPSS facilitates regional transactions as Nigerian businesses pursue opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area.

These four tools address both sides of the bottleneck: the market that sets currency prices and the payment system that settles cross-border obligations.

What changes after the FX window unification?

After unifying the foreign exchange windows, the CBN introduced measures to strengthen price discovery, transparency and market conduct. Its stated objective is a market where participants can see how prices form and follow consistent rules.

Hakama Sidi-Ali said: “These changes matter to importers, exporters, manufacturers and investors. A more transparent FX market provides a stronger basis for business planning and reduces the uncertainty associated with opaque trading arrangements.”

For importers and exporters, the practical effect is a firmer basis for pricing, budgeting and planning. Foreign exchange desks gain clearer signals on price formation, while the manual addresses trade documentation, export transactions and cross-border payment workflows. The combined objective is to give corporate treasury teams more predictable rules for foreign exchange dealings.

Can regional payments support AfCFTA expansion?

The CBN presents PAPSS as a mechanism for facilitating transactions and supporting trade within Africa. That mechanism has particular relevance as Nigerian businesses seek greater participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area and its regional trading opportunities.

“A manufacturer in Lagos supplying customers in Accra, Nairobi or Johannesburg needs reliable arrangements for receiving payment, managing transaction costs and conducting business across borders,” Sidi-Ali said.

Her example identifies three requirements for regional commerce: dependable receipts, control of transaction costs and workable cross-border execution. For finance teams, those requirements belong in the same assessment as sales orders, production schedules and customer delivery terms.

Does monetary stability reinforce the reform?

Macroeconomic stability is critical to Nigeria’s trade competitiveness because businesses need predictable conditions before they plan production, set prices, access financial services and commit investment capital. Sidi-Ali said a stable environment would allow them to make those decisions with greater confidence.

Over the past three years, the CBN has pursued reforms intended to restore monetary discipline, improve the foreign exchange market and strengthen confidence in the Nigerian economy. The rate cut and corridor recalibration form part of that effort to improve monetary policy transmission.

Inflation provides one measurable sign of progress. Headline inflation moderated to 14.63% in September 2026 from a peak of 34.8% in November 2024, while economic activity continued to expand. Households and businesses nevertheless continued to face considerable cost pressures.

The Monetary Policy Committee’s September decision carries specific implications for financing conditions. Cutting the rate from 26.5% to 23% and adjusting the standing facilities corridor seeks to transmit monetary policy more effectively through the financial system.

What does bank recapitalisation change?

The CBN’s recapitalisation programme seeks to strengthen financial institutions so they can finance productive activities and support international trade. Sidi-Ali argued that stronger banks can intermediate savings, withstand economic shocks and direct funding toward productive activity.

For lenders and borrowers, the programme’s commercial test is whether stronger institutions convert added capacity into reliable finance for production and trade. That link connects bank capital with the CBN’s wider objective of supporting Nigerian companies’ regional and international growth.

Taken together, the CBN package links foreign exchange rules, electronic matching, regional settlement, monetary stability and bank capacity. For importers, exporters, manufacturers and investors, the stakes are concrete: clearer prices, workable documentation, reliable cross-border receipts, controlled transaction costs and finance for productive trade.