Nigeria has overtaken South Africa to become Africa's largest banking market by customer numbers, driven by digital banking expansion and financial inclusion initiatives. According to the 2025 African Business Top 100 African Banks ranking and banks' latest financial reports, Nigerian lenders now serve the continent's deepest retail customer base.
Leading Banks by Customer Base
Access Bank tops the list with approximately 60 million customers across Africa. United Bank for Africa (UBA) and digital financial platform OPay each serve about 45 million clients. FirstBank reports roughly 43 million customers, while PalmPay has grown to 40 million. Zenith Bank serves around 36.7 million customers, and Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) reports approximately 32.8 million, according to BusinessDay.
Despite commanding Africa's largest retail audiences, no Nigerian institution appears among the continent's top 10 banks by total assets. South African and North African lenders, including Standard Bank Group, FirstRand, National Bank of Egypt, Absa, and Nedbank, dominate that asset-based ranking.
Asset Gap Despite Customer Dominance
The contrast is stark: South Africa's Standard Bank serves roughly 20 million customers yet controls assets worth more than $200 billion, a balance sheet that dwarfs those of Nigerian banks with far larger customer bases. The World Bank reported that private sector credit in Nigeria stood at 12.9% of GDP in 2024, compared with the Sub-Saharan Africa average of 20.1%, highlighting the relative shallowness of Nigeria's financial system.
Economists point to several factors widening the asset gap: lower household wealth, weaker institutional savings, limited long-term deposits, and the depreciation of the naira, which has reduced the dollar value of Nigerian banks' balance sheets even as they grow in local currency terms.
Outlook for Nigerian Banks
Analysts suggest that ongoing bank recapitalisation efforts, deeper financial inclusion, and rising household incomes could improve the standing of Nigerian lenders in asset-based rankings in the years ahead. The Central Bank of Nigeria has also approved the commencement of operations for Bank78 MFB, a private digital lender designed to bridge the gap between fast-growing fintech firms and traditional legacy banks.
Bank78 MFB stated that while inspired by private-banking culture, it is deliberately designed for the mass-affluent everyday Nigerian, offering a secure and premium digital banking experience. The entry of such players is expected to further intensify competition and deepen customer reach in Nigeria's banking sector.
