In line with the rest of the world, Nigeria is experiencing a major transition to digital payment methods with cash transactions expected to decrease by 32% by 2030, according to WorldPay’s Global Payment Report 2025.
The report, which tracks the payment evolution on a global-scale, reveals that cash is no longer the majority payment method in any of the 40 markets it looked at. But comparably large underbanked populations drive continued high rates of cash use in:
- Colombia
- Indonesia
- Mexico
- Nigeria, and
- The Philippines
Nigeria had the highest cash dominance for point-of-sale transactions among Middle Eastern and African countries, making up 40% of the PoS value in 2024, down from 91% in 2019.
It also noted that cash usage in Nigeria remains higher than in the MEA region, with:
- Saudi Arabia at 22% in 2024
- South Africa at 30%, and
- The UAE at 17%
“Over the past decade, Nigeria has witnessed progress in financial inclusion. According to the World Bank, the percentage of banked Nigerians increased from 30 percent in 2011 to 45 percent in 2021. Similarly, South Africa’s banked population grew from 54 percent in 2011 to 85 percent in 2021,” says the report.
REPORT | Morocco 🇲🇦 Leads Globally as the Most Cash Reliant Country (74%) Followed by Egypt 🇪🇬, Kenya 🇰🇪
Interestingly, 84% of the Moroccan population have access to the internet, so this preference for cash is likely not due to any internet issues.
The analysis also looked at… pic.twitter.com/seHwuQkVEZ
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) July 25, 2024
The report noted a rise in active bank accounts to 311 million in 2024, based on data from the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS).
The global report further revealed that account-to-account (A2A) transfers via NIBSS Instant Payments (NIP) have become the dominant e-commerce payment method in Nigeria.
Additionally, A2A payments through NQR (Nigeria Quick Response), a QR-based payment solution introduced by NIBSS, are now the second most popular payment method at PoS, following cash. This rise in A2A transactions highlights the increasing adoption of instant payment systems across the country.
Recent data indicates that electronic payment transactions in Nigeria reached a record high of N1.07 quadrillion in 2024, reflecting a 79.6% increase from N600 trillion in 2023.
🇳🇬 Nigeria’s e-transactions hit N1.07 quadrillion in 2024, says @NIBSS_NG
The data showed that the N1.07 quadrillion mark is about $702.6 billion based on the closing exchange rate of N1,535 per dollar on December 31, 2024.
Meanwhile, the volume of transactions processed by… pic.twitter.com/2hOVoaGwAv
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) March 21, 2025
In addition to the surge in transaction value, the volume of e-payments also experienced significant growth. The total number of transactions processed by NIBSS rose from 9.7 billion in 2023 to 11.2 billion in 2024, marking a 15.5% year-on-year increase.
Furthermore, PoS transactions skyrocketed to N19.4 trillion in 2024, an 81% jump from N10.73 trillion recorded in 2023.
“The shift is even more pronounced at PoS. In 2014, digital payments accounted for only 1 percent of PoS transaction value. By 2024, they had grown to one-third of the market. WorldPay projects that by 2030, digital payments will account for 47 percent of PoS transaction value, nearly equalling traditional cash and card payments,” says the report.
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