According to data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System, cashless transactions in Nigeria increased by 40.66 percent year on year to N210.08 trillion in the first seven months of 2022.
From January to July 2022, N210.08tn was processed through the Nigeria Instant Payment System (NIP) and Point of Sales terminals (PoS), demonstrating how cashless transactions are monitored on the NIBSS.
PoS transactions increased by N1.05 trillion, from N3.56 trillion in the first seven months of 2022 to N4.61 trillion in the same period of 2021.
The NIBSS data also indicated increased use of electronic payment gateways, as NIP and PoS terminals were used 1 billion more times from January to July 2022 than they were in the same period in 2021.
The two payment terminals were used 3.41 billion times during the review period and 2.40 billion times during the same period in 2021.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of electronic payment gateways has increased dramatically. The pandemic increased the number of contactless transactions and transactions.
The NIBSS asserted in its ‘Instant Payments – 2020 Annual Statistics’ that the pandemic had altered the e-Payments landscape and hastened the adoption of instant payments because more people were using electronic channels for funds exchange.
This is in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s plan to transition the country’s economy from cash to electronic.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of electronic payment gateways has increased dramatically. The pandemic increased the number of contactless transactions and transactions.
The NIBSS asserted in its ‘Instant Payments – 2020 Annual Statistics’ that the pandemic had altered the e-Payments landscape and hastened the adoption of instant payments because more people were using electronic channels for funds exchange.
This is in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s plan to transition the country’s economy from cash to electronic.
This is N60.73tn more than the N149.36tn value in the same period in 2021.
In the period under review, NIP transactions hit N205.48tn, which is N59.68tn higher than the N145.79tn value in the corresponding period of 2021.
“It taught us many new ways to do things.” COVID has demonstrated that we can do things that we previously thought required the assistance of a third party. COVID aided in the channel’s adoption. Many people used to prefer to go to the bank to make payments, but now they use e-channels.”
According to Lilian Phido, Head of Corporate Communications at NIBBS, more people were accepting payment gateways, and the platforms had become more stable and reliable.
Customers aren’t the only ones who have noticed the rise of electronic payment in Nigeria. The Federal Government included an Electronic Money Transfer Levy in the Finance Act of 2020 to benefit from the nation’s growing use of e-payment.
The EMTL is a one-time payment of N50 made on electronic receipt or transfer of funds deposited in any deposit money bank or financial institution for sums of N10,000 or more. The levy generated N111.84 billion for the government in 2021.
It also forecasts N483.73 billion from the levy over the next three years.
