The Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) yesterday disclosed insight into how Nigerians used Point of Sale (otherwise known as POS) to transact businesses in 2018.
According to highlights from the company’s POS Analysis Report for 2018, POS usage in Nigeria maintained steady growth (95%) last year, thereby continuing a trend that has been witnessed in the past five years.
Key highlights from the analysis
Meanwhile, a total of 139.6 million successful transactions were recorded in 2018, thereby bringing the overall total of successful transactions to 285.9 million (2012 – 2018).
In the same vein, there was a 61% increase in the number of unique cards usage across POS terminals in the country. Currently, some 20.5 million unique cards have been used to make successful transactions valued at N2.3 trillion, the report said.
The report also disclosed that the total number of recorded active merchants in 2018 stood at 122,261, even as the total number of active terminals stood at 144,461.
Sectors that are driving growth
According to the NIBSS report, the most active sectors in 2018 in terms of POS usage are wholesale, retail, and fast food sectors. The report also noted that there was also considerable growth in the use of POS in filling stations.
“Active sectors in the economy still remain the Retail, Wholesale, and Fast Food recording a growth of 86%, 134%, and 67% respectively when compared to 2017.
However, we have seen a major growth in Fuel Stations with a 159% growth as POS adoption continues to continues to increase among Fuel Stations.”
A look at some of the most used cards and their locations
According to the report, Mastercard was the most used card in 2018. Nigerians used the card brand to perform some 57% of the total transactions in 2018. Verve and Visa followed behind, respectively.
With Lagos State being the commercial capital and Nigeria and indeed West Africa, it is not surprising that Lagos was the main location for POS usage last year, accounting for 53% of the total volume of transactions. Rivers State and the Federal Capital Territory followed behind.
Failed transactions blamed on customers
15 per cent of all the POS transactions in 2018 failed. And according to the report, errors on the part of customers made that happen.
“These errors span from customers selecting the wrong account option to debit, to insufficient funds in the chosen account type.”
About NIBSS
Incorporated in 1993, the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) Plc is owned by all licensed banks, including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Its main function is to ensure easy transfer of money between banks.
