New data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBBS) has shown that the total value of electronic transactions recorded under the NIBSS Instant Payments (NIP) increased by 13 percent month-on-month and 50 percent year-on-year to N33.2 trillion in August compared to the N29.3 trillion recorded in July 2022.
However, the value of transactions processed through NIP between January and August increased by 42 percent year on year to N238.7 trillion.
The mobile USSD channel allows all Nigerian banks access to the NIP payment platform. As such, the stellar growth registered by electronic payments can be linked to the growing penetration of mobile telephony across the country, particularly the rapid growth of 4G broadband networks.
Although NIP transactions typically account for over 90 percent of electronic payment transactions due to the ease of use and ubiquitous nature of mobile phones, the data also showed considerable growth for other electronic transaction channels.
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For instance, transactions processed through the mobile (inter-scheme) channel increased 156 percent year-on-year to N1.8 trillion in August, thereby taking the year-to-date value to N11.1 trillion on a growth of 158 percent year-on-year.
Transactions made via point-of-sale (PoS) channels increased by 41 percent to N711 billion in August. On a cumulative basis for the 8 months to August, the value of transactions processed through PoS channels increased by N5.3 trillion, a 31 percent increase year-on-year.
Also, the E-bills pay platform, which makes it easier to pay bills, saw a growth of 36 percent year-on-year to N263 billion in August, and a total of N2.0 trillion from January to August 2022.
However, payments through cheques are increasingly getting out of usage, as payments through the channel amounted to N2.1trillion in the 8 months of 2022.
In addition, prospects for electronic payment channels are being enhanced by the continued push to deepen broadband penetration and the ongoing displacement of cash-based commerce with e-commerce, which has accelerated at a very rapid pace.
