- Nigeria Recorded N63tn Cashless Transactions in 2016
Nigerians carried out about N63tn worth of transactions on various electronic channels in 2016.
Statistics showed that the figure was the highest transaction value ever recorded in the nation’s e-payment sector, following the introduction of a cashless economy policy by the Central bank of Nigeria.
Our correspondent gathered that it almost doubled the total value recorded in 2015.
From the Electronic Payment Fact Sheet for January to December 2016, which was obtained from the Nigeria Inter-bank Settlements System Plc, the “total transaction value was about N35tn in 2015. But the figure was N62.7tn in 2016.”
It read, “However, more Nigerians use the National Instant Payment to carry out transactions, ostensibly because of its instant delivery unlike NIBSS Electronic Funds Transfer, which is characterised with delayed payment delivery.”
According to the NIBSS data, the NIP accounts for 60.6 per cent of the total transaction value across e-payment platforms.
Details of the transactions in 2016 showed that while total transactions value stood at N63tn, the NIP’s transactions value was N38tn, accounting for 60.6 per cent of the total transactions.
“Also, NEFT recorded N12tn while the value of cheque transactions was N5.8tn.
“Transactions on the Automated Teller Machines – bother withdrawal, payment and deposits – stood at N4.9tn while mobile money transactions were N756bn.
“Other transaction values carried out in 2016 included e-BillsPay, (N339bn); Point of Sales accounts for N759bn; while web payment stood at N132bn,” the NIBSS fact sheet indicated.
The NIBSS report also provided details of each of the transactions, regarding the transaction value, volume and mean value of each of the e-payment platform.
The report stated, “While the NEFT transaction stood at N12tn, total NEFT volume was 25 million with average daily NEFT volume of 69,103 and a mean value per NEFT of N492,428.
“For the NIP, whose total transaction value stood at N38tn, the total NIP volume was 154.5 million while average daily NIP volume and mean value per NIP stood at 422,142 and N247,337, respectively.
“Aside from e-BillsPay’s transaction value, which stood at N339bn, its total annual volume, average daily e-Billspay volume and mean value stood at 1,002,805 and N330,521 in that order.
“The PoS transactions with total value of N759bn; the volume of transaction on the 131,839 registered PoS in the country stood at 63.7 million while average daily transactions volume hit 174,085 and the mean value per purchase hit N11,912.”
Meanwhile, the CBN has fully licensed 20 Payment Terminal Service Providers with connectivity on Local Area Network, General Packet Radio Service, Code Division Multiple Access, Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) as cashless initiatives nationwide.
For the ATM transactions, the NIBSS report said there were 17,398 ATM machines in the country as of December 2016; 29.24 million ATM cards as of September last year with N4.9tn transaction value between January and December last year.
