The nation’s electronic payment (e-payment) system landscape has risen to a new height of about N592 trillion worth of transactions in 2019, a data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), obtained by The Guardian, yesterday, showed.
The e-payment’s value was recorded in about 93.84 billion different transactions across the country, through various electronic channels.
These electronic channels include cheque truncations, ACH/Nigerian Inter Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) Automated Payment Services (NAPS)/PMS, Automated Teller Machine (ATM), Point of Sale (PoS), Internet (Web), Mobile Money, NIBSS Instant Transfer (NIP), m-Cash, E-BillsPay, Central Pay, and Inter-Bank transactions.
The new record also contrasts with the e-payment’s activity in 2018, which though was estimated above N500 trillion, but less than the 2019 valuations.
According to a financial technology expert, Martins Nwude, the rising numbers are indications of acceptance, made possible by the seamlessness, convenience, relative affordability and timeliness offered by the technology behind the activities.
“This is a global trend and it has come to stay. Despite the fraudulent attacks against the process, the benefits are still surpassing. It is left for individual consumers and stakeholders from the technology and banking sides to up their skills and investments,” he said.
Specifically, the Inter-bank e-payment transactions- electronic transfer of money from one bank account to another, either within a single financial institution or across multiple institutions, via computer-based systems, recorded the highest activity, with N441.91 trillion between January and December 2019 in 90.86 billion deals.
This was followed by NIP channel, which recorded N105.22 trillion in 1.15 billion deals, while ACH/NAPS/PMS had N25.13 trillion in about 47.3 million transactions during the period under review.
Other performing channels include ATM, N6.51 trillion in 839.82 million transactions; Mobile Money, N5.08 trillion, in 377.27 million deals; 7.27 million cheque truncations worth N4.48 trillion; while PoS had 438.61 million deals valued at N3.2 trillion.
Transactions through electronic payment (e-payment) channels expected to facilitate the country’s ongoing cash-less policy rose to a cumulative value of N284 trillion in the first half of 2019, according to the apex bank.
These numbers continue to show the depth of adoption of the electronic channels in the country, as the cash-less policy and its awareness continue to spread.
In the first half of 2019, Internet (web) platform generated 47.98 million transactions valued at N223.35 billion, while mobile money records showed 104.8 million transactions worth N1.97 trillion.
The inter-bank e-payment platform recorded 1.76 billion activities worth N203.35 trillion, while the National Instant Payment platform generated 504.2 million activities, valued at N49.35 trillion.
Electronic cheque transaction had 3.42 million activities in the period, worth N2.3 trillion, with the Automated Teller Machine and Point of Sales terminals recording 424.62 million and 187.7 million transactions valued at N3.24 trillion and N1.38 trillion respectively, while the popular Remita generated 21.6 million activities worth N9.84 trillion.
The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Automated Payment Services (NAPS), an integrated multi-bank e-payment, e-collection and payroll and bulk payment platform, designed for the instant processing of payroll, pension, personnel records and execution of funds transfer, direct debit, collections, schedule delivery and payment instructions, generated 20.6 million transactions, valued at N11.59 trillion.