The latest data from by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) has shown that electronic payment transactions in Nigeria rose to N600 trillion in 2023, hitting an all-time high.
The value recorded on the NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) represents a 55 per cent increase over the N387 trillion recorded in 2022, an indication that more Nigerians embraced cashless payments.
According to the report, the highest value was recorded in December 2023, with Nigerians spending a total of N71.9 trillion over electronic channels.
The December 2023 spending, the data showed, is also the all-time high monthly record on the NIBSS electronic payment platform.
The NIBSS data showed that e-payment volume hit an all-time high of 1.1 billion in March 2023. This was around the period the country experienced cash scarcity and most Nigerians resorted to transacting through electronic channels.
However, the value for the month was not as high as what was recorded in December of the same year.
The volume of transactions processed by NIBSS for the year also rose from 5.1 billion in 2022 to 9.7 billion in 2023, representing a 90 per cent increase year on year.
The value of electronic transactions month by month shows that Nigerians spent N38.9 trillion on electronic platforms in January 2023, while in February, e-payment value stood at N36.8 trillion.
In March 2023, the value of electronic transactions grew to N48.3 trillion, and by April, a total of N41.3 trillion was spent on the electronic channels, while in May transaction volume stood at N45.9 trillion.
NIP transactions value in June 2023 was N45.3 trillion, a slight decline from the value recorded in May, while in July, the figure rose to N47.4 trillion.
In August, the value of NIP transactions climbed further to N50.9 trillion, while it rose to N51 trillion in September.
October and November transactions value stood at N59 trillion and N63.6 trillion respectively, while the highest transaction value of N71.9 trillion was recorded in December.
