Nigerian PoS transactions reach NGN 1.4 trln in 2017

Nigerians carried out NGN 1.41 trillion worth of transactions at Point of Sales terminals across the country in 2017, according to statistics from the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System. The transactions were conducted on about 155,462 active terminals made available to retailers by mobile money merchants. This was the highest value recorded since it was introduced in 2012 by the Central Bank of Nigeria to support its cashless policy aimed at enhancing the payment system. 

The highest transaction value of NGN 167.58 billion was recorded in December while the lowest of NGN 91.29 billion on PoS was reached in January. The PoS transactions rose by 85.75 percent from NGN 758,000 in 2016 and that this payment system was used 1.46 million times in the past year.

The value of electronic bills payment also appreciated in 2017, recording the highest value of NGN 550.75 billion in the past three years. This is a 62.3 percent increase from NGN 339.42 billion recorded in 2016. 

Meanwhile, the rate at which payment of bills were done electronically declined in 2017 compared with the previous years as only 905,980 transactions were recorded in the report. This is a 12 percent decrease from the 1.03 million electronic bill payments made in the country in 2016. However, fraud perpetrated through online payment systems remains worrisome as stakeholders say fraudsters have stolen about NGN 237 billion since 2007 from Nigerian banks through various electronic payment systems.