E-payment Transactions In Nigeria Jumps To N284.9tn In Q1 2025 -NIBSS

As more Nigerians go cashless, the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) has disclosed that the electronic payment transactions in Nigeria rose to N284.9 trillion in the first quarter of 2025, reports Business Today NG.
The NBS, which stated this in its data just released, said the value recorded on the NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) represents a 22% increase over the N234.4 trillion transactions recorded in Q1 2024.
The NIP is an account-number-based, online real-time Inter-Bank payment solution developed in the year 2011 by NIBSS and it facilitates transactions across multiple electronic channels including internet banking, mobile apps, Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), POS, ATM, among others.
NBS three months data shows that the highest value was recorded in January as Nigerians performed transactions worth N100 trillion over the electronic platforms.
In February, the value of NIP transactions stood at N88.8 trillion, while the value jumped again to N96 trillion in March.
According to The NIBSS data, e-payment volume also followed the value trend as the highest volume of transactions were recorded in January.
The volume of transactions across all the electronic platforms stood at 792 million in January, while it declined slightly to 687.5 million in February.
By March, the transactions volume went up again as the number of deals for the month stood at 735.5 million.
The rise in e-payment transaction value and volume is attributable to several factors including the recent cash scarcity, which forced many to businesses to start accepting transfers and other forms of electronic payments from their customers.
Industry analysts also believe that growing influence of fintechs in the Nigerian market is fueling increase in account openings by individuals and small businesses, thus adding to the number of performing transactions electronically.
Meanwhile, NIBSS recently unveiled a new payment solution called National Payment Stack (NPS) to revolutionise instant payment in the country and complement the NIP.
Speaking during the unveiling of the new solution in Lagos, the Managing Director of NIBSS, Mr. Premier Oiwoh, said the NPS was built to prepare Nigeria for the future of digital payments.
“It’s a transition to the future. With NPS, we didn’t just build another instant payment solution, we laid the foundation for Nigeria’s financial future,” Oiwoh said.
According to him, some of the features of the new payment platform include:
Real-time transactions and instant settlements
Advanced payment messaging using ISO 20022
Bulk and single payments on one rail
More efficient dispute management system
KYC verification via BVN, RC Number, or TIN
Request-to-Pay and Direct Debit capabilities
Multi-currency readiness and cross-border potential
Sandbox-enabled integration for partners in as little as 48 hours
Improved fraud management and risk rating capabilities
According to NIBSS MD, the strategic objective of building the NPS is to drive digital payment innovation, deepen financial inclusion within the ecosystem, and improve government social intervention payments, tax payments and revenue collection.
Oiwoh added that with Nigeria’s target of building a $1 trillion economy in 8 years, an improved payment rail such as the NPS is required to stimulate and prepare the country for the future.