Electronic payment transactions in Nigeria rose to N284.9 trillion in the first quarter of 2025 as more Nigerians go cashless.
According to the data released by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), the value recorded on the NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) represents a 22% increase over the N234.4 trillion transactions recorded in Q1 2024.
The NIP is an account-number-based, online real-time Inter-Bank payment solution developed in the year 2011 by NIBSS and it facilitates transactions across multiple electronic channels including internet banking, mobile apps, Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), POS, ATM, among others.
An analysis of three months data shows that the highest value was recorded in January as Nigerians performed transactions worth N100 trillion over the electronic platforms.
In February, the value of NIP transactions stood at N88.8 trillion, while the value jumped again to N96 trillion in March.
Transaction volume
The NIBSS data showed that e-payment volume also followed the value trend as the highest volume of transactions were recorded in January.
The volume of transactions across all the electronic platforms stood at 792 million in January, while it declined slightly to 687.5 million in February.
- By March, the transactions volume went up again as the number of deals for the month stood at 735.5 million.
- The rise in e-payment transaction value and volume is attributable to several factors including the recent cash scarcity, which forced many to businesses to start accepting transfers and other forms of electronic payments from their customers.
- Industry analysts also believe that growing influence of fintechs in the Nigerian market is fueling increase in account openings by individuals and small businesses, thus adding to the number of performing transactions electronically.
New payment system to complement NIP
Meanwhile, NIBSS recently unveiled a new payment solution called National Payment Stack (NPS) to revolutionise instant payment in the country and complement the NIP.
Speaking during the unveiling of the new solution in Lagos, the Managing Director of NIBSS, Mr. Premier Oiwoh, said the NPS was built to prepare Nigeria for the future of digital payments.
“It’s a transition to the future. With NPS, we didn’t just build another instant payment solution, we laid the foundation for Nigeria’s financial future,” Oiwoh said.
According to the NIBSS MD, some of the features of the new payment platform include:
- Real-time transactions and instant settlements
- Advanced payment messaging using ISO 20022
- Bulk and single payments on one rail
- More efficient dispute management system
- KYC verification via BVN, RC Number, or TIN
- Request-to-Pay and Direct Debit capabilities
- Multi-currency readiness and cross-border potential
- Sandbox-enabled integration for partners in as little as 48 hours
- Improved fraud management and risk rating capabilities
Oiwoh noted that the strategic objective of building the NPS is to drive digital payment innovation, deepen financial inclusion within the ecosystem, and improve government social intervention payments, tax payments and revenue collection.
He added that with Nigeria’s target of building a $1 trillion economy in 8 years, an improved payment rail such as the NPS is required to stimulate and prepare the country for the future.
