E-Payment Transactions Rise 89% To N257.7trn In Q1'24

NIBSS reports that in the first quarter of 2024, Nigerians conducted N234 trillion worth of electronic payments.

Nigerians made N234.4 trillion in electronic payments in the first quarter of 2024 as an increasing number of people went cashless during this time.

According to data supplied by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), the sum shown on the Instant Payment platform (NIP) indicates a notable 89 percent rise in comparison to the N123.9 trillion registered during the 2023 first quarter.

Payment transactions through fintech electronic channels and other banks increased steadily across the nation between January and March.

Electronic payments reached N79.3 million in value, while the value of NIP transactions jumped to N72.1 trillion in January from N71.9 trillion in December 2023.

The first quarter's e-payment volume continued to steadily increase, according to the NIBSS data. The monthly data analysis shows that in January, there were 887.58 million transactions.

The number of transactions surged to 905 million in February and reached a total of 986.6 million in March.

According to industry analysts, the recent cash scarcity and the Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN) cashless policy, which caps the daily amount of cash that may be withdrawn, are to blame for the spike in e-payment transactions.

The updated cashless policy went into effect on January 9, 2023, and states that an individual can only take N500,000 in cash every week, while corporate entities can withdraw up to N5 million.

NIBSS developed the NIBSS NIP, an online real-time interbank payment solution based on account numbers, in 2011. The platform of choice for the Nigerian financial industry, it ensures immediate benefit to the recipient.