What CBN’s new 26.5% interest rate means for your OPay, PiggyVest transactions

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) made a move today, February 25, that will affect every Nigerian who borrows money or saves on a fintech app. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) cut its benchmark interest rate, called the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), from 27% to 26.5%. That’s a 0.5 percentage point drop.

Small number, big meaning.

But before you rush to check if your loan repayment just got cheaper, the truth is that
It probably hasn’t.

Not yet. Maybe not ever, at least not on fintech apps.

Here’s everything you need to know.

What is the MPR and why does it matter?

Think of the MPR as the “parent rate.” It’s the rate at which the CBN lends money to commercial banks. When that rate goes down, banks are supposed to borrow more cheaply and, ideally, pass those savings on to you through cheaper loans.

The CBN has now cut this rate twice in a row: first in September 2025 (from 27.5% to 27%) and again today (from 27% to 26.5%). This is because Inflation has been falling for 11 straight months
and now sits at 15.1%, which is its lowest point in two years.

Hence, in theory, borrowing should get cheaper across the board.

What about OPay?

OPay doesn’t give loans directly. It connects users to two licensed lenders, OKash and EaseMoni, both operating under Blue Ridge Microfinance Bank.

What OKash currently charges:

• Monthly interest: 3% to 15%
• Annual Percentage Rate (APR): 36.5% to as high as 360%
• Example: Borrow ₦3,000 for 91 days, and you pay back ₦3,273, that’s ₦273 in interest

That APR range, 36.5% to 360%, tells you everything. These are short-term, high-risk microloans.

The CBN rate cut has very little practical effect on them. Why? Because these lenders aren’t pricing loans based on the MPR. They’re pricing based on default risk, loan tenure, and customer credit scores.

A 0.5% cut from the CBN doesn’t move that needle. Don’t expect your OPay loan to get cheaper anytime soon.

Central Bank Governor, Olayemi Cardoso

What about PiggyVest?

PiggyVest is primarily a savings and investment app, not a loan app. So this story is about what you earn, not what you owe.

PiggyVest offers:

• Flex Dollar savings: Flexible, lower interest
• SafeLock: Lock your money for a fixed period and earn higher rates
• Investify: Invest in vetted businesses for potentially higher returns

The rate cut signals a gradual decline in returns on savings and money market products.

PiggyVest’s rates are tied to underlying money market instruments that follow the broader interest rate environment. So over the next few months, if rates keep falling, your SafeLock earnings may edge downward too.

Currently, fintech savings apps offer between 14% and 22% per annum, already much better than the 8% average at traditional banks. But that gap may begin to narrow.

What about Cowrywise?

Cowrywise focuses heavily on mutual funds and structured savings plans.

Its rates currently include:

• Emergency fund: 13.27% per annum
• House rent/Study/Car plans: 13.85% per annum

These rates are linked to money market funds, which are sensitive to CBN rate movements. As the MPR falls, money market yields tend to follow, which means Cowrywise returns could gradually decrease if the CBN continues cutting.

Interest rate February 24, 2026

However, the current 26.5% MPR is still very high historically. The declines will be gradual, not sudden.

So what does this actually change for you? Here’s a quick summary:

The bottom line:

The CBN cutting rates to 26.5% is good news in the long run. It shows inflation is cooling, and it’s the beginning of a cheaper-borrowing era, eventually. But “eventually” is doing a lot of work in that sentence.

Commercial lenders are slow to respond. Fintech entities that give high-risk microloans are even slower. And savings rates will likely tick down before loan rates do.

For now, the people who borrowed ₦50,000 on OKash at 15% monthly interest are not getting any relief from today’s announcement. But if you’re negotiating a business loan or planning to lock savings for 12 months, the direction of travel matters and the direction is downward.

Watch this space. If the CBN cuts again, and many economists believe it will, that’s when things will actually start to feel different in your pocket.

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