Data from a new report series from the NBS, produced in collaboration with the CBN, reveal that 462 million transactions valued at N29trn were recorded on electronic payment channels in Q4 2017. As expected, ATM transactions dominated with a volume of 240 million. Internet subscriptions directly correlated with electronic transactions stood at 98 million in December 2017, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission. This translates into a penetration of 53%.
Based on data from the Nigeria Inter-bank Settlement System (NIBSS), total active bank accounts as at February 2017 stood at 67 million, pointing to 36% exposure (of the country’s population) to electronic payment transactions. Financial inclusion is still far from its optimal level.
The volume of point-of-sale (PoS) transactions shows the impact of the cashless policy on the economy. The NBS data show that 47 million PoS transactions were recorded in Q4 2017, representing increases of 20% q/q and 113% y/y.
Meanwhile, mobile payments recorded 12 million transactions valued at N307bn (US$1bn) in Q4. The value of transactions grew by just 30% y/y and accounted for only 1.1% of total electronic transactions.
Mobile banking remains hugely untapped. Indeed, better synergy between telecommunication operators and banks would boost e-transactions. Kenya is the leader in this field through M-Pesa and other platforms. Ghana is worth a mention, too: its central bank has reported total mobile transactions in 2017 (12 months) of GHS156bn (US$35.9bn), compared with KES4.6trn (US$45.3bn) for the 12 months to June 2017.
