By Michael Dibie
Nigeria business environment is witnessing increased adoption of electronic payment channels for transactions despite poor network systems and basic infrastructures in the financial sector.
According to Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), the value of (E-payment) transactions in Nigeria grew by 66 percent, the highest volume of transactions (1.76 billion) recorded in December 2023 reflecting increased spending due to the festive season.
While the lowest volume was recorded in March with 978.7 million transactions. The figure reflects the country’s increased adoption of electronic payment channels, driven by cash scarcity and increased financial inclusion
And despite the numerous challenges associated with the E-payment system in Nigeria, most business owners say they prefer the system rather than cash transactions.
Though e-payment is faced with challenges, like public acceptability, lack of uniform platform being operated by the banks, lack of adequate infrastructure and issues of security, with the proper use of e-payment systems.
Most Nigerians are compelled to adopt digital payment systems for their daily transactions as the country grapples with the challenges.
Managing Director of Mobile Exploits International, Abuja, Ukegbu Ekene, said the issue of trust is still prevalent in Nigeria business sector, hence a lot of checks are done on some customers before they attend to their request as some do have an ulterior motive.
“For E-payment the system is very efficient, it’s fast and reliable, it doesn’t get issues. Once a customer pays for a product, it takes a few minutes to confirm payment, though sometimes, we have network issues and a few other times transfer can be problematic” he added.
“E-payment is better because, one customer is making payment of any goods purchased, it’s very easy to transfer and you get your money but another thing is sometimes when the network is bad, there may be a delay in the transaction” said another business owner, Olajide Ayodeji.
Business Expert and Chairman, young CEO, Abuja Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Fifehanmi Banks reiterated that there has been some awareness from different people about the cashless system over handling of cash in Nigeria.
“If you remember towards the election in 2023, the policy was to be enforced and there was a lot of push backs from people but after the election, I believe that due to the enforcement a lot of people felt it was actually time to switch” he said.
Experts say moving from a society where 90% of cash is held outside of the banks to a cashless society is a big change. Banks noted that the entire electronic system in Nigeria is pretty young and as such, we cannot compare it with developed nations where everything is on point.
“A lot of people go to complain to some of these service providers and like I said earlier these are teething problems but as we improve on our infrastructures and the Banks improve in their internal system people will see a more efficient transactions in the payment system
A 2022 report by payments firm, ACI and GlobalData, suggests that Nigerian real-time payments will top 8.9 billion transactions by 2027.
