According to new data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), total cashless transactions in Nigeria increased by 45.41 percent year on year in January 2023 to N39.58 trillion.
The decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to limit the circulation of cash in the financial system may have influenced the significant growth in the use of technology for the payment of goods and services in the country during the period under review.
After announcing last October that it was redesigning the N200, N500, and N1,000 notes, the central bank stated that it would reduce the amount of cash in circulation.
Individuals would be limited to N100,000 per week, while corporate organizations would be limited to N500,000 per week.
However, in response to public outcry, it increased the weekly cash withdrawal limit for individuals to N500,000 and for corporations to N5 million via various channels, including over-the-counter (OTC), Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), and Point of Sale (POS) (POS).
According to the most recent NIBSS data, POS transactions increased by 40.69% last month to N807.16 billion, up from N573.72 billion in January 2022.
The NIBSS tracked these transactions using the Nigeria Instant Payment System (NIP) and POS terminals, and it was discovered that the use of electronic channels for transactions increased by 45.50 percent during the study period, from 438.48 million to 638 million.
