More Nigerians embrace cashless transactions as PoS deals rise by 39.2%

• Cheque transactions fall 5%; BVN-linked accounts hit 36m

Statistics from the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), showed that Point of Sales (PoS) usage in 2018 grew by 39.2 per cent, indicating that many Nigerians are now more attuned to the usage of the payment systems in their marketing transactions.

NIBSS statistics also showed that there were 182,806 registered terminals in 2017, of which 155,462 were deployed. But in 2018, there was an increase, as 258,443 terminals were registered, while 217,283 were deployed.

Further analysis of the data of transactions on the deployed terminals from NIBSS showed that as at January, about N152 billion were transacted, and N271.9 billion in December.

Further analysis of the statistics also showed that the volume of transactions carried out by Nigerians, using mobile money rose to N1.22 trillion as at September 2018, from N795.18 billion in 2017.

Strangely, after about five years of operation in Nigeria, mobile money has only been able to attract just one per cent penetration, according to a GSMA report, which analysed the sector in 2018.

Unlike in Ghana, and Kenya, where penetrations have reached 40 per cent and 60 per cent respectively, only about two million of Nigeria’s estimated 198 million populations use mobile money.

Experts have stressed that the model operated in Nigeria, which is bank-led, has not adequately impacted the initiative in the country, which is currently home to about 21 mobile money operators.

The NIBSS statistics showed that as at the first six days of 2019, there are now 36, 217,561 Bank Verification Accounts (BVN) in the country. The total bank account in Nigeria is put at 115.1 million, out of which 74.7 million are active. There are 25.2 million current accounts, while 86.8 million are savings.

Transactions carried out through cheques fell by 5.02 per cent in 2018, against 2017 levels,  meaning that more customers are embracing other payment alternatives, especially electronic.

Statistics from NIBSS showed that in 2017 there were 10,814,991 volume of cheques valued at N5.3 trillion. But in 2018, the volume of cheques dropped to 9,019,239 valued at N5.1 trillion. The drop represents a 5.02 per cent slash in 2018, when compared with 2017.