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Abstract
This study investigated the adoption of digital banking and fintech innovations in Enugu State and assessed their implications for financial inclusion within the dual context of the state’s “Tomorrow Is Here” economic transformation agenda and Nigeria’s evolving national Open Banking framework. A descriptive survey of 294 adults (banked and under-banked) across urban and rural locations was conducted in 2026. The instrument measured awareness, usage intensity, trust, perceived usefulness, barriers, and inclusion outcomes. Descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, and multiple regression were applied. Results show high awareness of mobile banking and USSD/mobile-money services, moderate-to-high usage among urban and youth cohorts, and significant positive associations between digital-finance adoption and indicators of financial inclusion (account activity, remote payments, credit awareness). Key opportunities include the state’s digital-economy programmes, MSME formalisation drives, and the prospective data-sharing and product-innovation gains from Open Banking. Persistent challenges are network reliability, digital literacy gaps (especially among older and rural respondents), trust/security concerns, and uneven last-mile agent coverage. The study concludes that Enugu’s transformation agenda and the national Open Banking architecture jointly create a favourable window for accelerated, inclusive digital-finance adoption, provided infrastructure, literacy and consumer-protection gaps are systematically addressed.