The value of transactions on Point of Sale (PoS) channels across the country in 2019 increased 37.9percent to N3.20trillion from N2.32trillion recorded in 2018, according to the latest data released by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS
Analysis of the report shows that N222.9 billion worth transactions were carried out through the channel in January, However, in February, there was a drop in the value of PoS transactions to 193.4 billion – the lowest recorded in the year. While the highest value of PoS transactions was recorded in December with N372.68 billion.
During the year, the volume of PoS transactions surged 53.4percent to 438.6 million, up from 285.8 million in 2018. Understandably, December recorded the highest volume with a total of 46.13 million transactions, while the lowest volume was recorded in February 25.7million.
The use of interbank instant payments on USSD platforms by bank customers received a significant boost in 2019, as transactions through NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) increased 24.79percent to N105.2 trillion, from 80.4 trillion in 2018.
The highest value of transactions recorded through NIP was December while the lowest was recorded in February. On another hand, further analysis shows that in 2019, transactions done through mobile transfers (Mobile Inter-scheme Transactions) hit N828 billion.
Several impediments have been identified as dragging the full adoption of cashless policy in the country. Top among these concerns include the N50 stamp duty on transactions above N10,000.
The Federal competition & consumer protection commission FCCPC, in a directive said the charge of N50 on point of sale transactions transferred to consumers has been banned
According to FCCPC, any business found in offense of this directive shall be penalised in accordance with the applicable law.
Sadly, despite the directive, some malls and outlets still continue to charge the N50 stamp duty. Findings by BusinessDay shows that some merchants in retail outlets, filling stations included the N50 stamp duty in their PoS machines automatically. This followed the widespread adoption of the N50 charge on customers seeking to pay their bills using debit cards.
