A new report by fintech platform, Nomba, has revealed that Virtual accounts are becoming the primary payment rail for Nigerian businesses, marking a shift away from card-based payments across both retail and enterprise use cases.
Data from Nomba’s API platform shows that virtual accounts accounted for 75% of all business payment transactions processed on the platform in 2025, significantly ahead of card payments.
The figures suggest a structural change in how businesses design and scale their payment infrastructure.
What the data is saying
According to Nomba, the data analysed covers N122 billion in transaction value processed across 1.85 million transactions in 2025.
- It shows virtual accounts supporting vastly different transaction profiles on the same infrastructure.
- Retail payments below N10,000 accounted for 63% of total transaction volume, while enterprise transactions above N1 million contributed 48%of the total value processed.
Despite the contrast in transaction size and frequency, both segments were handled through the same payment systems.
- Operational reliability appears to be a major factor behind the shift. Platform data shows a transaction success rate of 99.78%, with 4,076 refunds recorded out of 1.85 million transactions, equivalent to roughly one refund for every 450 successful payments.
- Transaction activity also peaked consistently around 7pm, a time when many Nigerian businesses have closed for the day.
Nomba said this highlights the advantage of virtual accounts, which continue processing payments after business hours without manual intervention or staff involvement.
Behind the shift
The company noted that the growing preference for virtual accounts is being driven largely by end customer behaviour, as users increasingly expect payments to be instant, reliable, and consistently available.
“What we’re seeing is a shift driven by end customers,” said Nomba CEO, Yinka Adewale.
“Customers increasingly expect payments to be instant, reliable, and not dependent on whether a card works or a channel is available. Merchants are responding by standardising on payment rails that reduce failure, simplify reconciliation, and work consistently at scale,” he added
He added that virtual accounts have increasingly become the foundation on which businesses are building their payment operations.
What you should know
Virtual accounts are essentially system-generated digital bank accounts assigned to customers or transactions for the purpose of receiving payments.
- Unlike traditional bank accounts, virtual accounts are temporary, highly customisable, and bank-agnostic, meaning businesses can receive payments from a variety of sources, regardless of the payer’s bank.
- These accounts serve as an intelligent payment gateway, streamlining the transaction process and improving the accuracy of transaction tracking.
- The growing adoption of virtual accounts is taking place amid rising pressure on Nigerian businesses to offer payment experiences comparable to global standards.
