In the first eight months of 2022, the value of mobile transactions increased to N11.10 trillion, according to data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System.
According to the NIBSS, the total amount of mobile transactions in the equivalent time of 2021 was N4.29 trillion.
Experts claim that COVID-19 caused a boom in mobile payments in 2020, while the use of checks started to fall.
According to the NIBSS data, mobile devices led electronic payment in 2020, accounting for 43% of all transactions, 35% of which were USSD transactions, meaning that mobile devices were used for 78% of all transfer transactions.
According to the NIBSS’s “Instant payments 2020 annual statistics,” mobile devices dominated electronic payment in 2020, accounting for 43% of all transactions.
Additionally, 78% of all transfer transactions were carried out utilizing mobile devices, while 35% of transactions using USSD.
The provision of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data, which has facilitated financial transactions, is one advantage of financial services relying on telecom infrastructure, according to Prof. Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission.
The number of GSM active customers climbed from 173.63 million in January 2019 to 206.08 million in June 2022 during the time period under study.
The global organization for telecommunications companies, GSMA, noted in its mobile money industry report for 2021 that while 2020 saw unprecedented challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the mobile money industry witnessed strong efforts in striving towards cashless societies, entering strategic partnerships to expand the horizons of digital payments, and developing new and robust interoperable payment systems.
