ABOUT N54.98tn was processed through Nigeria’s electronic channels in the first two months of 2022, according to data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System portal.
This is a 45.49 per cent increase from the corresponding period of 2021 when N37.79tn was processed through the nation’s electronic channels.p
The NIBSS tracks payment volumes and value through the Nigeria Instant Payment System and Point of Sales terminals.
In the first two months of 2022, N53.83tn was transferred through the NIP system while N1.15tn was processed through PoS terminals.
In the corresponding period of 2021, N36.83tn was processed through the NIP system, while N958.19bn was processed through PoS terminals.
According to the data on the NIBSS portal, individuals used electronic channels 86.57 per cent more in the first two months of 2022 than they did in the corresponding period of 2021.percent
Individuals used electronic channels 86.57 percent more in the first two months of 2022 than they did in the same period in 2021, according to data on the NIBSS portal.
Electronic channels were used 882.99 million times in the first two months. They were used 473.27 million times in the corresponding period of 2021.
The data also revealed that agent banking was on the rise. Of the 986,252 registered PoS in the nation, an all-time high of 955,234 was deployed in January 2022. This is 100.89 per cent from the 475,494 that was recorded in January 2021.
According to the NIBSS, electronic payment adoption has been on a rise since the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NIBSS revealed in a report titled ‘Instant Payments – 2020 Annual Statistics’ that mobile is driving electronic payments in the country. In 2020, mobile devices accounted for 43% of total transactions, while USSD accounted for 35% of total transactions, indicating that 78% of total transfer transactions were carried out via mobile devices.
According to the GSM Association, the global trade association for telecommunications companies, mobile money transactions will exceed $1 trillion by 2021.
It went on to say that Nigeria and other Sub-Saharan African countries contributed N697.7 billion to total mobile money value in 2021.
“Mobile money customers are also more active users,” it said. Between 2012 and 2021, the proportion of accounts active on a 90-day basis increased from 26% to 38%, while the proportion of monthly (30-day) active accounts increased from 20% to 26%.”
According to the association, the number of active agents has increased more than tenfold, from 534,000 in 2012 to 5.6 million in 2021.
According to the GSMA, “between 2012 and 2021, the number of active agents increased more than tenfold, from 534,000 to 5.6 million, providing access to financial services to the most underserved customers.”
“Despite closures and movement restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, the value cashed in and digitised via mobile money agent networks increased by 18% in 2021, reaching a total of $261 billion, or more than $715 million per day.” Even the most established agent networks experienced strong growth, with the 25 largest networks increasing by more than 25% on average between 2020 and 2021.”
