E-payment Transactions Dipped To ₦37.67trn In February – NIBSS

The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) revealed that the value of e-payment transactions in February 2023 fell to ₦37.67 trillion.

This figure is 4.83 percent lower than the ₦39.58 trillion recorded in January 2023.

According to the February report, e-payment gateway usage increased by 41.29 percent month on month.

According to the agency, cashless transactions occurred 901.46 million times in February, up from 638 million in January, 2023.

Despite the increased usage as a result of the Central Bank of Nigeria‘s (CBN) cashless policy and naira redesign, the total value of cashless transactions fell in February, indicating an increase in the number of failed transactions.

Meanwhile, the NIBSS announced cashless transactions using the Nigeria Instant Payment System (NIPS) and POS terminals.

According to the report, total instant payment transactions in February fell to ₦36.79 trillion from ₦38.77 trillion in January.

Furthermore, despite the scarcity of naira during the month, the value of PoS transactions increased from N807.16 billion in January to N883.45 billion in February, according to the report.

“Mobile transfers, which serve as the primary payment gateway for many Nigerians, soared by 69.87 percent from 108.14 million times in January to 183.69 million times in February,” the report said.

“While usage grew significantly, transaction value only grew marginally by 7.88 percent from N2.37 trillion in January to N2.56 trillion in February.”

The CBN’s implementation of the naira redesign has been fraught with controversy since October 2022, when the policy was introduced.