Nigerian E-Payments Hit N1.07 Quadrillion in 2024

Electronic payment transactions in Nigeria reached an unprecedented N1.07 quadrillion in 2024, marking the first time the transactions hit the quadrillion mark.

According to data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), this value recorded on the NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) platform represents a 79.6% increase from the N600 trillion recorded in 2023.

Throughout the year, e-payment data showed a steady increase, with the highest value recorded in December. During this festive period, Nigerians spent a total of N115.1 trillion through electronic channels, setting an all-time high monthly record on the NIBSS platform.

The volume of transactions processed by NIBSS also saw a significant rise, jumping from 9.7 billion in 2023 to 11.2 billion in 2024, representing a 15.5% year-on-year increase.

Industry analysts attribute the surge in e-payment transactions to the recent cash crunch and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) cashless policy, which limits the amount of cash that can be withdrawn daily. The revised policy, effective January 9, 2023, restricts individual cash withdrawals to N500,000 per week and corporate withdrawals to N5 million per week.

A Lagos-based financial analyst, Mr. Adewale Adeoye, noted that the scarcity of cash in banks has driven more Nigerians to adopt cashless payment methods. He explained that those in need of cash often resort to PoS operators, using their cards or making transfers to receive cash.

“It is expected that electronic transactions will continue to rise since banks are not releasing cash as they used to. Aside from the CBN withdrawal limit, if you enter a bank today to withdraw cash, they may tell you that you can’t collect more than N5,000 over the counter. So, you are forced to use ATMs, which are often short of cash. If all that fails, you start looking for PoS operators or resort to mobile transfers,” he said.