Nigeria’s POS Transactions Hit A Monthly All-time High Of N735.6 Billion In September 2022

In September, the value of transactions conducted via point of sales (POS) terminals ran into a total of N735.6 billion, a monthly all-time high. This is according to data released by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement Systems (NIBSS). This data also showed that between January and September, a total of N6.05 trillion worth of transactions were conducted via POS in the country. The total value of POS transactions currently stands at N6.4 trillion. 

Compared to September 2021, the value of POS transactions rose 32 percent in 2022. In September 2021, POS transactions conducted via point of sales (POS) terminals ran into a total of N556.4 billion. Between September 2021 and 2022, the volume of POS transactions increased by 14 percent. As of September this year, POS transaction volume stood at 100.4 million.

According to NIBSS data, these POS transactions were conducted via 1.484 million active terminals across the country. Also, a total of 568,488 new POS terminals were deployed between January and September this year. As of December 2021, the number of POS terminals deployed was 915,519.

A gap, however, still exists between the number of registered POS terminals and the number of machines deployed. NIBSS data showed that a total of 2.164 million POS machines had been registered in Nigeria as of September 2022. This automatically means that a total of 680,991 terminals are either yet to be deployed or have become inactive.

The growth in POS transactions has been driven most especially by increasing adoption by merchants for receiving payments. Another important reason for the growth in POS transactions is that it fills the gap created by either the shortage of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) or the unavailability in certain areas. Many Nigerians now use POS agents to make withdrawals and even pay bills. In fact, people prefer POS agents to stand in long ATM queues or go too far places to use ATM machines. POS transactions have proved to be highly profitable for POS agents and banks, as customers incur the costs of transactions.

Although POS transactions are steadily growing, NIBSS data shows that this growth is highly concentrated in Lagos; Nigeria’s economic capital. Lagos has had the largest number of POS transactions since 2020, this data showed. Zamfara, Kebbi, and Yobe each account for less than 1 percent of Nigeria’s total POS volume.