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Analysts: E-payment Transactions Surge On Naira Redesign Policy

Analysts at FBNQuest have attributed the sharp rise in the value of electronic payment (e-payment) transactions in the first three months of the year to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) naira redesign policy.

The analysts, who stated this in a report released yesterday, said: “On a cumulative (ytd) basis, the total value of electronic transactions recorded during Q1 ’23 amounted to N124 trn, representing a 45 per cent y/y growth.

“The significant rise in the value of electronic transactions in the first three months of the year, relative to the corresponding period of the last year, can be attributed to the CBN’s initiative to redesign the naira bills and reduce the amount of physical currency in circulation.”

The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, had on October 26, un- veiled a naira redesign policy as part of its efforts to reduce the huge amount of currency outside the banking system.

The implementation of the policy, which saw the apex bank introducing redesigned N200, N500 and N1,000 denominations, caused a shortage of cash that led many bank customers to embrace e-payment channels. Specifically, as the FBNQuest analysts noted, data from the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) shows that the total value of electronic transactions recorded under the NIBSS Instant Payments (NIP) platform increased by 52 per cent y/y to N48.3 trn in Mar ‘23.

Also, the value of transactions via the mobile (inter-scheme) channel grew by about 209 per cent y/y to N4.1 trillion, while payments made through the Point-of-sale (PoS) channel increased by about 60 per cent y/y to N1.2 trn in March.

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