By Elizabeth Adegbesan
DESPITE the adoption of electronic payment channels due to cash scarcity occasioned by the Naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the value of electronic payment transactions declined while volume of transactions increased.
However, most e-payment channels recorded increases in both value and volume.
The epayment value fell month-on-month (MoM) by four percent to N40.6 trillion in February 2023 from N42.4 trillion in January.
Recall that the intrigues behind the currency redesign policy and the legal tender status of the old N500 and N1,000 banknotes have caused cash crunch and hardship in the country despite the Supreme Court judgment legalizing the use of the old notes.
The development has forced monetary transactions to go digital as people try to navigate the cash crunch.
Analysis of the e-payment data by Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) released yesterday, however, showed that the volume of e-payment transactions rose MoM by 29 per cent to 1.45 trillion in February 2023 from 1.12 trillion in January 2023.
A breakdown of transactions by channels showed that the volume of NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) transactions rose by 31 percent to 787.9 million in February 2023 from 541.65 million in January 2023, while its value went down by 5.0 percent to N36.7 trillion from N38.7 trillion in January 2023.
The volume of Point of Sale (PoS) transactions rose by 17.8 percent to 113.5 million in February 2023 from 96.3 million in January 2023, while its transaction value rose by 9.5 per cent to N883.4 billion from N807.16 billion in January 2023.
Similarly, the volume of Mobile transactions also rose by 69.8 percent to 183.68 million in February 2023 from 108.13 million in January 2023, while the transaction value rose by 7.5 percent to N2.55 trillion from N2.37 trillion in January 2023.
The volume of cheque transactions rose by 4.5 percent to 333.9 million in February 2023 from 319.37 million in January 2023, while its value declined by 2.2 percent to N238.49 billion from N244.01 billion in January 2023.
The volume of E-bills transactions fell by 16.8 percent to 27.8 million in February 2023 from 49.8 million in January 2023; its value fell by 32 percent to N90.93 billion from N164.89 billion in January 2023.
The volume of CentralPay transactions rose by 36 percent to 9.2 million in February 2023 from 5.1 million in January 2023. Its transaction value also fell by 12.7 percent to N181.69 million from N79.7 million in January 2023.
The volume of Automated Direct Debit (ADD) transactions fell by 13.5 percent to 1.4 million in February 2023 from 1.62 million in January 2023 while its value rose by 0.9 percent to N138.9 million from N140.18 million in January 2023.
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