Figures from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) half-year 2018 economic report shows an increased activity in the electronic payment platforms available in the country.
According to the report, volume and value of electronic payments increased to 953,176,045, amounting N62.81 trillion at the end of June 2018, when compared with 829,422,069, amounting N52.65 trillion at the end of December 2017, representing an increase of 14.92 and 19.31 per cent.
Also during the review period, the volume and value on e-money products (comprising ATM, POS, Mobile payments and Internet transactions) increased to 596.0 million, amounting to N4.89 trillion in the first half of 2018 from 461.8 million (N4.29 trillion) in the corresponding period of 2017, representing an increase of 29.1 and 13.9 per cent.
A further breakdown of e-product channels shows:
- ATM remained the most patronised, accounting for 72.1 percent.
- POS and mobile payments, with 20.3 and 4.6 per cent, respectively.
- The web (internet) was the least patronised, accounting for 3.0 per cent of the total.
While in terms of value, ATM accounted for 64.8 per cent; POS, 20.8 per cent; mobile payments, 12.2 per cent and the web (Internet) accounted for 2.2 per cent.
ATM Transactions in the country
The number of ATMs as at the end of June 2018 stood at 18,052, with increased transactions, both in volume and value by 17.2 and 4.1 per cent to 429.8 million and N3.17 trillion, above 366.8 million and N3.04 trillion in the corresponding period of 2017.
Web/Internet Transactions in the country
The increased awareness and acceptance of internet payment in the country also had a positive impact as the volume and value of internet transactions increased in the first half of 2018 by 54.8 and 30.8 per cent to 17.8 million and N109.5 billion, compared with 11.5 million and N83.7 billion, respectively, in the corresponding period of 2017.
Point of Sale (POS) Terminal Transactions
The number of POS terminals deployed as at the end of June 2018 was 185,026. The volume and value of transactions rose by 103.4 and 66.9 per cent to 120.8 million and N1.01 trillion, respectively, in the first half of 2018, above the 59.4 million and N610.1 billion in the corresponding period of 2017. The rise in usage of POS terminals was buoyed by an increasing public confidence in the payment channel.
Mobile Payments
The volume and value of mobile payments increased by 14.0 and 7.0 per cent to 27.6 million and N594.9 billion, respectively, in the first half of 2018 above 24.2 million and N555.8 billion in the corresponding period of 2017. The rise was due to increased acceptance of mobile payments as an easier alternative.
Interestingly, the volume and value of cheques decreased to 4.7 million and N2.60 trillion in the first half of 2018, compared with 5.3 million and N2.78 trillion in the corresponding period of 2017, reflecting a decline of 11.3 and 6.5 per cent, respectively. The decrease was attributed to consumers’ preference for the use of other modes of payment.
