By: Damian Okonkwo
Nigeria has recorded the highest rate of electronic payments (e-payments) so far in the country in August 2022.
According to the report given by the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement Systems (NIBSS) last week, the country's total transactions via e-payments rose to N33.2 trillion in August. This raises the total value of e-payments made through the NIBSS Instant Payment Platform (NIP) in Nigeria within the last eight months to N238.7 trillion marking its highest record so far since the creation of the e-Payment method.
Judging from the previous month's record, it could be said that the NIBSS transactions rose by 13.3% compared to the N29.3 trillion reached in July 2022.
On a year-over-year basis, the e-payments transactions rose by 50% compared to the N22.1 trillion recorded in August 2021.
Following the CBN remarks, the unprecedented surge in the e-payments transactions recorded in the completed month shows that Nigerians are currently embracing the cashless policy massively. This will further provide a fertile ground for the use of the eNaira to take strong roots within the country.
Added to this, the volume of the NIP transactions increased to 448 million in August marking a 10.6% increase compared to the 405 million witnessed during July.
Nevertheless, the yearly increase in the volume of the NIBSS instant payments (NIP) carried out in Nigerian since its creation in December 2011 showed Nigerians seemed to prefer the cashless policy above every other. Many analysts believe this is the most secure means of payment given the high rate of insecurity in the country.
A major advantage of the e-Payment transactions is that it is often very fast and provides reliable evidence of payment for record purposes. Consequently, many financial institutions had embraced the e-payment system above the cash payment method.