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Part of the guideIs your money safe in a Nigerian fintech?
The short answer
As of October 2026, the NDIC insures up to ₦5 million per depositor at a commercial bank and per subscriber at a mobile money operator, and up to ₦2 million at a microfinance bank, primary mortgage bank or payment service bank. Cover is per depositor, per institution, so balances at the same bank are added together, and investments such as Treasury bills or fund units are not covered.
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) pays depositors back, up to a fixed amount, when a licensed bank fails. That fixed amount is the single most useful number in deciding where to keep your savings. This article covers the limits, the rules on how they are counted, and how payouts work. For the wider picture of licences, data and fraud, see our guide is your money safe in a Nigerian fintech?
The current NDIC limits
The NDIC raised its limits in May 2024, a tenfold increase for commercial bank depositors. The figures below are still the published limits as of October 2026.
| Institution type | Cover per depositor | Before May 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial (deposit money) bank | ₦5,000,000 | ₦500,000 |
| Mobile money operator (pass-through, per subscriber) | ₦5,000,000 | ₦500,000 |
| Microfinance bank | ₦2,000,000 | ₦200,000 |
| Primary mortgage bank | ₦2,000,000 | ₦500,000 |
| Payment service bank | ₦2,000,000 | ₦500,000 |
When it announced the increase, the NDIC said the new commercial bank limit would fully cover about 99% of depositors. In other words, most ordinary savers are fully insured. The people who need to plan are those with balances above the limit at a single institution: business owners, people saving for a property, and anyone holding a lump sum such as a gratuity or the proceeds of a sale.
What counts as an insured deposit
The NDIC insures deposits: money you have placed with a licensed institution that it owes back to you. That includes savings accounts, current accounts and fixed deposits. It does not include things you have bought with your money, even if you bought them through a bank or app.
- Covered: savings, current and domiciliary balances, fixed or term deposits, and wallet balances held by a licensed mobile money operator (through pass-through cover).
- Not covered: Treasury bills, FGN bonds, money-market fund units, shares, crypto, and any "investment plan" that buys assets on your behalf.
- Not covered: money held by an unlicensed operator, however professional its app looks.
- Not covered: money you were tricked into sending. Deposit insurance protects against the failure of a bank, not against fraud on your own account.
How the limit is counted: a worked example
Cover applies per depositor, per insured institution. Balances you hold in several accounts at the same bank are added together first, and the limit is applied to the total. Separate licensed institutions each carry their own limit.
Take Ada, who has ₦7,000,000 in savings. Here are three ways she could hold it.
| Where the money sits | Insured if that institution fails | Uninsured |
|---|---|---|
| ₦7,000,000 in two accounts at one commercial bank | ₦5,000,000 | ₦2,000,000 |
| ₦7,000,000 in one microfinance bank | ₦2,000,000 | ₦5,000,000 |
| ₦4,500,000 at commercial bank A, ₦2,000,000 at an MFB, ₦500,000 at commercial bank B | ₦7,000,000 (each within its limit) | ₦0 |
The third arrangement costs Ada nothing but a little admin, and it means a single failure cannot touch her savings beyond the insured amount. Uninsured money is not necessarily lost: it is repaid from the failed bank's assets as they are recovered. But that takes time and may not reach 100%.
How the NDIC pays when a bank fails
When the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revokes a licence, the NDIC is appointed liquidator. The law gives it 30 days to pay insured deposits, and recent payouts have been faster.
- Automatic payment where possible. The NDIC uses Bank Verification Number (BVN) records held by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) to find depositors' accounts at other banks, then credits the insured amount directly. No form is needed if the link exists.
- Verification for everyone else. Depositors without a BVN-linked account elsewhere are asked to visit an NDIC zonal office with their documents.
- Liquidation dividends for the rest. Balances above the limit are repaid as the NDIC recovers loans and sells the failed bank's assets. These are paid in instalments, often over years.
The scale is real. On 1 July 2026 the CBN revoked the licences of 46 microfinance banks, and the NDIC reported that by 31 July 2026 it had paid ₦1.48 billion to 10,312 depositors across 47 recently closed MFBs. After Heritage Bank closed in June 2024, it paid ₦54.23 billion to 715,529 insured depositors and declared more than ₦71.27 billion in liquidation dividends for amounts above the limit. Our sibling article on what happens if a fintech shuts down explains how this differs when the app, not the bank, closes.
Four steps to stay fully insured
- Check that the institution holding your money is on the NDIC's list of insured institutions. Our guide to checking a CBN licence shows how.
- Add up everything you hold at each institution, including fixed deposits and business accounts in your name.
- If any total is above the limit for that type of institution, move the excess to a different licensed institution.
- Link your BVN to at least one other bank account and keep your phone number and email current, so the NDIC can pay you automatically.
If you are weighing a microfinance bank against a commercial bank, the lower ₦2 million limit is one factor among several. Our comparison of microfinance banks and commercial banks looks at the others.
Where Pryme fits
Pryme Financial Ltd is a technology company, not a bank. In Nigeria, Naira deposits are held by Solid Allianze Microfinance Bank Ltd, which is licensed by the CBN and insured by the NDIC up to the applicable limit, currently ₦2,000,000 per depositor for a microfinance bank. Under the NDIC's per-depositor, per-institution rule, deposits are added together with anything else you hold directly at the same bank. Savings Boxes (Nigeria-only) come in Flexible, Fixed, Investment and Interest-free types; as with any provider's savings products, read each one's terms before relying on NDIC cover. The Investment Savings Box works differently from the other Boxes. The money in it funds Solid Allianze's lending, including Spaces credit, which is where its return comes from and why it is held to a fixed date. That means the return depends on how the lending book performs, and the money is not available before maturity. Check the terms in the app for how it is protected before you put money in.
If your savings are larger than ₦2 million, the same advice applies to Pryme as to any MFB: spread the excess. More on the structure is on How it works, and the full picture is in our guide to whether your money is safe in a Nigerian fintech.
Questions people ask
What is the NDIC insurance limit for microfinance banks in 2026?
₦2,000,000 per depositor, per microfinance bank. The limit was raised from ₦200,000 in May 2024 and has not changed as of October 2026.
Is my money in OPay or Moniepoint insured by NDIC?
Cover depends on the licence behind the app. Wallets held by a licensed mobile money operator get pass-through cover up to ₦5 million per subscriber; deposits at a licensed microfinance bank are covered up to ₦2 million. Check the provider's legal name on the NDIC list.
Does NDIC cover Treasury bills and money-market funds?
No. They are investments, not deposits. Their protection comes from the issuer (for Treasury bills, the Federal Government), SEC rules and the custodian that holds the assets.
If I have two accounts at the same bank, do I get ₦5 million on each?
No. Cover is per depositor, per institution, so balances at the same bank are added together before the limit is applied. Accounts at different banks are insured separately.
How long does the NDIC take to pay after a bank fails?
The law allows 30 days for insured amounts. Recent payouts have been faster where depositors had a BVN-linked account at another bank. Money above the limit is paid later, as assets are recovered.
Sources
- Nairametrics: NDIC raises deposit insurance coverage, May 2024 · accessed Oct 2026
- ICIR: NDIC raises insurance coverage for bank customers · accessed Oct 2026
- NDIC: frequently asked questions · accessed Oct 2026
- Legit.ng: NDIC begins paying depositors of 46 failed microfinance banks (Jul 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- Arise News: NDIC pays N1.48bn to 10,312 depositors of 47 failed microfinance banks (Oct 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- Africa Check: Nigeria's central bank revoked 46 microfinance bank licences, what happens now · accessed Oct 2026
- NDIC: verify an insured financial institution · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.