A recent report by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) has revealed that in the first nine months of the year (January – September), Nigerians have completed transactions worth N6.05 trillion via the Point of Sales (PoS) machines. This is a major highlight for financial services in the country, as the total transactions completed in the whole of 2021 via PoS machines was N6.4 trillion.
What’s more
NIBSS also stated that PoS transactions hit a new monthly record of N735.6 billion, adding that the volume of these financial transactions rose by 14 per cent per year-on-year to 100.4 million in September 2022.
A closer look
These financial transactions, according to NIBSS’ report, were carried out in over 1.484 million active terminals across Nigeria in the first nine months of the year. A further breakdown for the period under review shows the addition of 568,488 new PoS terminals as the number of deployed machines in December 2021 was 915,519.
Why this matter
The PoS system assigns the cost of the transaction to the customer using the service, creating profit for the PoS merchant and the bank. Regardless of this, the massive adoption of this financial system has proven effective in broadening access to financial services.
Analysts linked the growth of PoS transactions in Nigeria to the massive adoption of PoS devices by merchants for receiving payments. And for other uses, such as withdrawing and depositing funds.
African scope
The massive adoption of PoS devices in Africa shows the continent’s acceptance of unique digital payment methods. According to the GSMA report, this tremendous growth of mobile money in Africa accounts for 70 per cent of the world’s $1 trillion mobile money value.