This picture taken on January 29, 2016 in Lagos shows 1000 naira banknotes, Nigeria’s currency. Nigeria’s central bank governor, Godwin Emefiele, on January 26 dismissed calls to devalue the naira in his monetary policy committee statement. Instead he chose to continue propping up the currency at 197-199 naira to the dollar and maintain foreign-exchange restrictions. As a result, the naira on the black market is hovering around a record low of 305, fuelling complaints from domestic and foreign businesses who can’t access dollars required for imports. / AFP / PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images)

In Nine Months, Nigerians Spend N2tn On E-bills 

According to data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System, Nigerians spent N2.18 trillion on electronic bills such as power, PayTV, and other utilities in the first nine months of 2022.

This is a 30.84 percent increase from the N1.67 trillion that was spent in the corresponding period of 2021.

According to the NIBSS data, this is the first-time electronic channels have been used to process over N2tn in utility bills.

E-bills include daily bill transactions that are accessible and seamless, with online real-time transaction reporting, biller notification, and easy reconciliation.

The NIBBS stated, “e-BillsPay is an electronic bill payment platform that facilitates the payment of bills, fees, levies, premiums, and subscriptions etc. by the banking public through electronic payment channels provided and managed by banks.”

Since the onset of the pandemic, e-bills payment has surged with customers opting for contactless transactions with merchants integrating payment options with financial institutions. The NIBSS explains that e-BillsPay touch points include bank branches, Internet banking, mobile banking, USSD, and agent networks.

According to industry experts, mobile adoption is key to the growth of e-bills payments with individuals relying on the ease and speed of mobile devices. Point of Sale terminals have also been attributed to this growth, with 955,234 deployed POS in the nation.

Kehinde Ogunyale

Reporting on the data-driven economy, and investigations.

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