The rise is driven by fintech expansion and unemployment, prompting more Nigerians to enter the agency banking sector.
Nigeria has achieved an improved ratio of one Point-of-Sale (PoS) terminal per 41 persons, according to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS).
This marks progress from one per 43 persons in December 2024 and one per 89 persons in March 2024.
NIBSS disclosed that as of March 2025, 8.355 million PoS terminals had been registered, with 5.9 million actively deployed. The rise is driven by fintech expansion and unemployment, prompting more Nigerians to enter the agency banking sector.
PoS transactions rose sharply, with 776.93 million transactions in Q1 2025, up from 314 million in Q1 2024. Transaction value hit N10.51 trillion, up from N3.422 trillion year-on-year. However, monthly figures dropped from N4.116 trillion in January to N3.177 trillion in February, before a slight recovery in March.
Meanwhile, electronic payments via NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) reached N284.99 trillion in Q1 2025, with volume falling to 2.215 billion from 2.779 billion in Q1 2024. “The NIP facilitates real-time transactions across multiple digital channels,” NIBSS stated.