By Chika Otuchikere
In nine months-January to September, 2020, the value of transactions via the two digital payment platforms – Nigeria Interbank Settlement System Instant Payment System and Point of Sales terminals – rose to N111.29tn
When compared to an aggregate of N77.49tn in the corresponding period in 2019, the two platforms recorded a 44 per cent growth in value of payments.
According to data obtained from Nigeria Interbank Settlement System, NIP grossed N105.3tn from January to September this year while PoS deals were worth N6.4tn during the same period.
In the first nine months of 2019, total NIP transactions amounted to N75.53tn while PoS payments were valued at N2.24tn during the same period.
In January this year, NIBSS reported instant money transfers valued at N10.3tn, compared to N8.11tn in the same month in 2019.
In the following month, the value of NIP transactions was N9.97tn compared N7.47tn NIP deals recorded in February 2019.
The banks grossed NIP transactions valued at N10.97tn in March 2020 as against N8.58tn in the same month last year.
Statistics by NIBSS showed that in April this year when Lagos, Ogun and Abuja, among other states were on total lockdown, the value of instant transfers dropped to N7.01tncompared with N8.28tn in April 2019.
In May this year, the value of the transfers increased to N10.41tn as against N9.04tn in the same period last year.
In June 2020, the value of NIP deals was valued at N12.26tn compared with N7.87tn recorded in the corresponding period of 2019.
In the following month, instant transfers valued at N14.34tn were recorded as against N8.97tn in July2019.
In August the value of NIP transactions peak at N14.65tn as against N8.73tn in the same period last year while in September, NIP payments were worth N15.4tn as against N8.48tn in2019.
The NIBSS data showed that the value of Point of Sales transactions also grew by 186 per cent to reach N6.4tn from January to September 2020 as against a total of N2.24tnrecorded in the first nine months of 2019.
