Nigerian’s Utility Bills Surged by N733.74 Billion in Three Years- NIBSS

Data obtained from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS), revealed an increase of 387.19 percent in the usage of e-bills payments from N189.50bn recorded in the first four months of 2019 to N923.24 billion recorded in the same period of 2022, leading to N733.74 billion increment within three years.

Investors King gathered that the channel of payment recorded sustained growth as N716.99bn was paid between January and April of 2021, while N923.24bn was paid in the corresponding period of 2022.

E-bills payment, according to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System, is an accessible and smooth account-based e-bill payment channel with online real-time transaction reporting, biller notice, and easy reconciliation.

It said, “e-BillsPay is an electronic bill payment platform that facilitates the payment of Bills, Fees, Levies, Premiums, and Subscriptions, etc. by the banking public through electronic payment channels provided and managed by Banks.”

Accordingly, e-BillsPay touch points include bank branches, Internet banking, mobile banking, USSD, and agent networks.

The National President of the Association of Mobile Money Agents in Nigeria, Victor Olojo, commented on the growth of the payment channel, saying that mobile usage was driving the increase in e-BillsPay.

He said, “Primarily, the increase in mobile usage and mobile payment has helped very aggressively in e-bills payment as people now have access to mobile phones and are now able to do payments themselves.

“Secondly, financial inclusion; more people have access to finance and that way they can link their accounts to their mobile numbers to carry out transactions. Also, a bulk of e-bills payments have to do with utilities, PayTV, and power. More Nigerians have been able to embrace mobile banking.”

According to him, this uptick is likely to persist as payment ease improves. He went on to say that as the population grows, more people would be able to use this method of payment.