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The Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) has released a report showing that electronic payment (e-payment) services recorded N56.85 trillion worth of transactions between January and September 2018. This figure represents a 28.84 percent increase compared to the N40.45 trillion recorded in the corresponding period of 2017.

The report, obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) over the weekend, shows that the transactions were done through the NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP), Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), Point of Sale (PoS), Mobile Money and web payment platforms.

Incorporated in 1993, NIBSS is owned by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and all the licensed Nigerian banks. NIBSS also operates the Nigeria Automated Clearing System (NACS), which facilitates the electronic clearing of cheques and other paper-based instruments, electronic funds transfer, automated direct credits and automated direct debits.

A breakdown of the report shows that ATM transactions grew from N4.61 trillion in 2017 to N4.76 trillion as at September 30, 2018. The volume of transactions on ATMs during the period under review also grew from 560.86 million in 2017 to 650.06 million in 2018.

Similarly, the use of PoS increased – from 98.73 million transactions worth N975 billion in 2017 to 196.83 million transactions valued at N1.61 trillion in 2018.

The value of transactions done by Nigerians using mobile money also rose from N795.18 billion in 2017 to N1.22 trillion as at September 2018. The web payment channel, during the period under review, also rose from N129.24 billion in 2017 to N183.07 billion in 2018.

However, the value of e-bill payments, which allows customers to pay utility bills such as power and cable subscription online, declined. The value of payments using this system fell from N420.73 billion in 2017 to N370 billion as of September 2018.

According to a financial analyst, Patricia Auta, the NIBSS report indicates an increased awareness and use of technology by individuals and businesses. Nevertheless, Auta called for increased growth in the electronic payments system.