The use of mobile channels for payment transactions in Nigeria has risen by 3,454.46 percent from N136.85bn within the first four months of 2019 to N4.86trn same period of 2022, data from the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), shows.
This growth follows a 13.98 percent increase in the number of telecommunication subscribers in the country from 176.62 million in April 2019 to 201.31 million in the corresponding month of 2022.
In a report titled ‘Instant Payments- 2020 Annual Statistics’, NIBSS said COVID-19 had changed the e-payments landscape and hastened the adoption of instant payments as people switch to electronic channels for funds exchange.
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However, data from the NIBSS showed a significant increase in the value of mobile transactions started during the pandemic, which is consistent, the report said.
Mobile devices drove payment in 2020, which accounted for 43 percent of total transactions in 2020, with 35 percent of transactions carried out via USSD, and 78 percent of total transfer transactions.
According to the NIBSS, mobile transactions increased from N136.85bn in 2019 to N623.47bn in 2020, N1.78tn in 2021, and N4.86tn in 2022.
The mobile inter-scheme transaction portal showed that usage increased by 3,406.95 percent from 4.36 million times in 2019 to 152.99 million times in 2022.
This implies that the increase in mobile usage is driving the increase in e-payment transactions by Nigerians.
