Mastercard: 34% of Nigerian SMEs Accept Crypto

More than a third of Nigerian small and medium-sized businesses accept cryptocurrency as payment, according to Mastercard's Dreamonomics report, the Nigerian findings of which were published this month by Daily Trust, BusinessDay and TechCabal. The 34% figure is more than twice that of the next-highest market in the survey and well above the global average of 13%, Mastercard says.

The gap holds for spending as well as accepting. 22% of Nigerian SMEs use crypto to pay business expenses, against 7% globally, Mastercard says. 23% accept stablecoins and 11% use them to settle expenses, the highest of any market surveyed.

Security ahead of the curve

• 47% of Nigerian SMEs already use cybersecurity tools such as antivirus software and firewalls, the highest of the 18 markets, against 37% globally.
• 81% rate protection from cyber threats as a high priority, and 45% say they would be very interested in cybersecurity services from their financial provider.
• 83% say they are excited about using AI in their business, against 70% globally, and 59% want AI-powered fraud protection from their bank or payments provider, against 41%.

Nigerian owners also stand out for appetite. Only 51% put predictability ahead of fast growth, compared with 68% globally, and 31% say they avoid risk to keep finances predictable, against 54%. Both are the lowest figures in the survey, according to Daily Trust.

Read it as a company's survey

The numbers come from Mastercard, which sells payment and security services to the businesses it surveyed, and the Nigerian coverage ran as company-supplied content. The methodology, as published, is an online survey by the research firm Hypothesis of more than 6,000 owners and senior decision-makers at businesses with fewer than 250 employees, across 18 markets including Nigeria, in February and March 2026. No margin of error or Nigerian sample size is given.

"Nigerian entrepreneurs have always been quick to put new technology to work," said Gabriel Swanepoel, Mastercard's executive vice president and division president for Africa, in the release. The company points to its Crypto Credential product, launched in Nigeria with the exchange Busha, which lets users send digital assets to an email address or phone number instead of a wallet address.

The regulatory backdrop is shifting too. Daily Trust notes that the Central Bank of Nigeria opened applications in August for the second cohort of its regulatory sandbox, with a track for virtual asset service providers that includes fiat-backed stablecoin payments.