Nigeria’s electronic payment (E-payment) transactions rose by 66% to N664.21 trillion in 2023, a significant uptick from N387 trillion in the previous year.
This surge in E-payment transactions highlights the escalating adoption of electronic payment channels among Nigerians, driven by factors such as cash scarcity and an increasing emphasis on financial inclusion.
The volume of electronic payment transactions mirrored this trend, experiencing an extraordinary 240% increase, soaring from 5.1 billion in 2022 to an astounding 17.34 billion in 2023.
Data from the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) for 2023 revealed that December marked the pinnacle, recording the highest volume of transactions at 1.76 billion, attributed to heightened spending during the festive season.
Examining transaction values, December 2023 also witnessed the highest value, totaling N79 trillion. In contrast, February 2022 recorded the lowest value with N40.9 trillion in transactions.
These shifts align with findings from the Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFiNA) 2023 Access to Finance Survey Report, indicating that 45% of Nigerians utilized Digital Financial Services in the past 12 months, a significant increase from 34% in 2020.
The report emphasized that financial inclusion continued to grow, with formal financial inclusion rising from 56% in 2020 to 64% in 2023, bringing Nigeria within 1.0 percentage point of achieving the 2022 Nigerian Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) recommended targets for 2024.
As the nation focuses on this trajectory, attention is now turning to deepening the quality and impact of financial inclusion.