The value of mobile money transactions has seen a significant increase, with a reported N49tn being transacted in Nigeria due to the crisis of the naira. This has caused a surge in e-payments.
The value of cash transactions rose from N37.67tn in February 2023 to N49.48tn in March 2023, which could be attributed to a decrease in unsuccessful electronic payments.
In February, there was a rise in failed e-payments resulting in a 4.83% decrease from the N39.58tn recorded in January. In March, however, the value of cashless transactions hit a new high of N42.86tn, surpassing the previous record of N42.86tn set in December 2022.
The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System reported that the number of times Nigerians utilized electronic gateways significantly increased to 1.35 billion in March compared to 901.46 million times in the preceding month.
In March, the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) reported that the value of cashless transactions from the Nigeria Instant Payment System was N48.33tn, and Point of Sale terminals recorded N1.15tn in total transactions.
The reliance of Nigerians on mobile devices for transactions has been rising, with a 106.93 percent increase in usage from February to March. This has led to an overall 61.99 percent increase in the value of transactions, from N2.56tn to N4.14tn.
The number of cashless transactions increased substantially in the first quarter of 2023, amounting to a 44.84 percent increase from the same period in 2022, totaling N126.73tn.
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The NIBSS data indicates that the banking framework of the country is recovering from the issues that initially impeded customers from using cashless payments.
Due to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s now-postponed naira redesign policy, a higher volume of cashless transactions has been seen in Nigeria, as more people are switching to electronic forms of payment.
Although there has been an increase in payment activity, unsuccessful transactions are still frequent in the payment system of the nation. On Easter Sunday, customers of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc experienced disruption of their digital services until later in the day, causing difficulty for many.
Cowrywise, a fintech, informed cus tomers on Monday that there were periodic interruptions with some banks and the nation’s central processor of digital payments, hindering their capacity to provide satisfactory service.
It said, “There have been intermittent downtimes with a couple of banks as well as the central processor of electronic payments, resulting in substantial delays with transfers.
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“We apologize for any delays that you may have encountered and can assure you that steps are being taken to ensure that any potential future delays are kept to a minimum.”
The Group Managing Director of RoutePay, Femi Adeoti, reported that the shift to cashless payments led to a rise in the number of transactions that were more than anticipated, resulting in a slower rate of customer service.
The Central Bank of Nigeria is hopeful that cash transactions will lessen in the upcoming years with digital payment methods becoming the more popular choice of payment. Over the last three months, many Nigerians have had their doubts about this prediction.
