E-payment transactions hits N10.3trn in January

By Omobayo Azeez

Payment activities through electronic channels in Nigeria are valued at N10.3 trillion in January 2020, according to the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NiBSS).

The January figure represents a 29 per cent increase in transaction value compared to N8.41 trillion recorded in January 2019 but a marginal decline of 4.1 per cent from N10.74 trillion e-payment deals facilitated by banks in December, 2019.

According to NiBSS’s latest e-payment report, volume of deals in the month under review also rose to 160.18 million, showing 58 per cent increase from 2019’s figure of 101.38 million transactions and 27 per cent higher than 126.57 million deals recorded in December last year.

The aggregate electronic payments figure is a summation of transactions carried out on Point of Sale (PoS), terminals, mobile inter-bank transfers, NIBSS’ Instant Payments (NIP), electronic bill payment and Central Pay across the country.

According to the latest statistics, NIP topped the chart of electronic payment in the months just as in previous month as Nigerian banks facilitated deals worth N10.3 trillion in January this year, representing 27 per cent growth from N8.11tn in the corresponding period of 2019.

According to the record, at least, Nigerian executed payment transaction via the channel in no fewer than 111.35 million times in January this year, as against 72.29 million in January 2019.

The latest data show that the value of PoS transactions stood at N313.427 billion in January, recording a 41 per cent increase against N222.92 billion recorded in the corresponding period in 2019.

PoS transaction volume in the month also rose to 41.32 million in January 2020, appreciating by 47 per cent compared with 28.16 million in the same period in 2019.

Inter-bank transfers made in Nigeria in the month under review amounted to N133.22 billion, posting a 397 per cent growth from N26.83 billion in the comparative month of 2019.

NiBSS further shows that the volume of mobile inter-bank transfers also climbed by 914 per cent to 7.35 million in January 2020, from 0.723 million in January 2019.

According to the NIBSS, electronic bill payments worth N92.76 billion were carried out by banks in January, representing 86 per cent growth from N49.76 billion in the same period in 2019.

The volume of electronic bills, according to the data, however indicated a decline of transaction as 122,685 bills were paid in January, 2020 as against 134,656 in January 2019, representing nine per cent reduction in volume.

Central Pay, an application that allows customers to make payment to e-commerce businesses, recorded transactions valued at N471.93 billion in January.

This was 20 per cent reduction in payments made by customers in January 2019, which was N591.35 milliom.

The volume of central pay deals also declined by 23 per cent from 67,718 in January 2019 to 52,241 in January 2020.