Cashless Transactions in Nigeria Experienced a 88% Surge, Reaching N237 Trillion in Q1 2024

New statistics from the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System reveal that cash transactions in Nigeria surged to N237 trillion in the first quarter of 2024. This marks an 88% increase from the N126 trillion recorded in the same period of 2023.

Reports reveal that electronic payment channels were utilized 3.09 billion times in the first quarter, marking a 6.2% increase from the 2.91 billion transactions recorded in the same period of 2023.

The Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) tracks cashless transactions from the Nigeria Instant Payment System and Point of Sale terminals. In the first three months, the total value of instant payments was N234.5 trillion, while PoS transactions amounted to N2.6 trillion.

In 2023, cashless transactions in Nigeria increased to N611.06 trillion. It said the payments grew to N611.06 trillion from N395.38trn as of the end of 2022 indicating a 54.55 per cent year-on-year growth.

Developed by NIBSS in 2011, NIBSS emerged as the preferred funds transfer platform within the Nigerian financial industry, ensuring instant value delivery to the beneficiary.

According to NIBSS, Nigerian banks have made NIP accessible to customers through various channels such as internet banking, bank branches, kiosks, mobile apps, USSD, POS, and ATMs.

Data analysis revealed that electronic payment channels were utilized 11.05 billion times in 2023, marking a 75.96% increase from the 6.28 billion transactions recorded in 2022. The total value of instant payments in 2023 amounted to N600.36 trillion, while Point of Sale transactions reached N10.7 trillion and were relied upon for 1.38 billion transactions.