Electronic payment transactions in Nigeria rose to N600 trillion in 2023, representing a 55 per cent increase over the N387 trillion recorded in 2022.
This was disclosed by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), in its recent data.
The data showed that Nigerians spent a total of N71.9 trillion through electronic channels in December 2023. This was the highest monthly record ever recorded on the NIBSS electronic payment system.
Also, the NIBSS statistics indicated that in March 2023, when Nigerians were forced to deal through electronic channels due to cash scarcity, e-payment volume reached an all-time high of 1.1 billion. The figure for the month was lower than the one that was noted in December of the same year, though.
Concurrently, the amount of transactions handled by NIBSS increased from 5.1 billion in 2022 to 9.7 billion in 2023. This is a rise of 90 per cent, from the previous year.
When the value of electronic transactions is broken down month by month, it can be seen that Nigerians spent N38.9 trillion on electronic platforms in January 2023 and N36.8 trillion in February of the same year.
Expectedly, In March 2023, the value of electronic transactions jumped to N48.3 trillion, driven by the scarcity of cash at that time.
By April, a total of N41.3 trillion was spent on the electronic channels, while in May transaction volume stood at N45.9 trillion.
The value of NIP transactions in June 2023 was N45.3 trillion, a little less than what was recorded in May. E-payment transactions reached N47.4 trillion in July.
The value of NIP transactions increased to N50.9 trillion in August and N51 trillion in September, respectively.
The biggest transaction value of N71.9 trillion was reported in December, with values for October and November standing at N59 trillion and N63.6 trillion, respectively.