Data from the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System have shown that electronic payments in Nigeria was N611.06 trillion in 2023, representing a 54.55% growth from the N395.38trn recorded in 2022.
The volume of transactions processed by NIBSS for the year also jumped from 5.1 billion in 2022 to 9.7bn in 2023.Analysis of the data by the NIBSS, which records cashless transactions from the Nigeria Instant Payment System and Point of Sales terminals, showed that the total value of instant payment in 2023 was N600.36tn while PoS was N10.7tn.
It also showed that electronic payment channels were used 11.05 billion times in 2023.
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Instant payment channels, including mobile, recorded a usage volume of 9.67 billion, and PoS terminals recorded 1.38 billion.
While the e-payment data shows a steady increase throughout the 12 months of the year, the highest value was recorded in December as Nigerians spent a total of N71.9 trillion over electronic channels.
The NIBSS data showed that e-payment volume hit an all-time high of 1.1 billion in March 2023, the time Nigerians experienced cash scarcity and were forced to transact through electronic channels.
Recall that the then Godwin Emefiele-led Central Bank of Nigeria introduced the cash withdrawal limit policy as a complimentary policy of the Naira redesign policy in December 2022. The policy led to scarcity of Naira notes as banks limited cash withdrawals. As the scarcity stifled economic activities, Point of Sales (PoS) operators raised charges on transactions by as high as 500 per cent in some places.
A look at the value of electronic transactions month by month shows that Nigerians spent N38.9 trillion on electronic platforms in January 2023, while in February, e-payment value stood at N36.8 trillion.
Similarly, In March 2023, the value of electronic transactions jumped to N48.3 trillion, driven by the scarcity of cash at that time.
By April, a total of N41.3 trillion was spent on the electronic channels, while in May transaction volume stood at N45.9 trillion.
NIP transactions value in June 2023 was N45.3 trillion, a slight decline from the value recorded in May. July saw e-payment transactions jump to N47.4 trillion.
In August, the value of NIP transactions climbed further to N50.9 trillion, while it rose to N51 trillion in September.
October and November transactions value stood at N59 trillion and N63.6 trillion respectively, while the highest transaction value of N71.9 trillion was recorded in December.
