Nigeria’s e-Payment Transactions Decline to N79.85 Trillion in April 2024
In April 2024, electronic payment transactions in Nigeria saw a significant decrease, plummeting by 93.1% to N79.85 trillion from the previous month’s N88.04 trillion, as reported by the Financial Derivatives Company Limited (FDC).
NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) transactions experienced a notable 9.31% drop to N75.32 trillion, and Nigeria Interbank Settlement System Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) transactions fell by 9.07% to N3.42 trillion. Despite this decline, cheque transactions rose by 10.68% to N290.36 billion.
Point of Sales (PoS) transactions also saw a considerable decline, dropping by 15.35% to N811.77 billion compared to March’s N958.99 billion. This decrease follows consecutive monthly increases in e-payment transactions in the first quarter of 2024, which highlighted the growing importance of digital solutions in Nigeria’s financial sector.
The surge in the first quarter amounted to N234 trillion, indicating an 89.3% increase from the previous year. Experts attribute the April decline to reduced consumer spending, delayed discretionary purchases, and a shift towards lower-value transactions.
They anticipate further declines in May due to decreased consumer spending and business activities.