August 03, (THEWILL) — The transformation initiatives at the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) towards revolutionising the country’s payment landscape is central to the expansion of the economy driven by the services sector.

Nigeria’s economy expanded by 3.13 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025, accelerating from 2.27 percent in the same period last year. The services sector remains the key growth engine of the economy for the past decade, rising 4.33 percent and contributing 57.5 percent to GDP (year-to-year) in Q1 2025, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The rapid expansion of the economy driven by the services sector hinges on the financial inclusion strategy of NIBSS.

The place of NIBSS

NIBSS significantly contributes to Nigeria’s economic growth by providing the infrastructure and services that facilitate efficient and secure electronic payments and financial transactions. It does this by innovations that enable seamless payments, secure settlements, and trusted identity validation across the Nigerian financial ecosystem.

NIBSS’s role has proved crucial in supporting the nation’s digital economy and promoting financial inclusion which enhances the growth of the services sector.

Services, which play a significant role in employment with a larger proportion of jobs coming from that sector, encompasses a wide array of industries that contribute significantly to the nation’s economy. Key components include trade, information and communication technology (ICT), financial services, real estate and professional services.

These areas rely significantly on efficient digital payment and e-banking services to function. And this reflects on the advancement of the e-payment system in recent times driving on the infrastructure transformation at NIBSS.

Transaction surge

For instance, electronic payment transactions in Nigeria surged to N284.99 trillion in Q1 2025, representing a 17.7 percent year-on-year increase when compared to the N234.49 trillion recorded during the same period in 2024.

Also, Point-of-Sale (PoS) transactions in the country rose to N10.45 trillion in Q1 2025, marking a remarkable 209 percent increase compared to the N3.62 trillion recorded during the same period in 2024.

According to NIBSS, electronic payment transactions rose to an all-time high of N1.07 quadrillion in 2024 – a point never recorded in the nation’s financial services history. (A quadrillion is N1,000 trillion – about $702.6 billion based on the closing exchange rate of N1,535/$1 on December 31, 2024.)

Expanding impacts

The expansion in e-payment platforms boosted the Federal Government revenue from Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) to N31.2 billion in December 2024 – the highest monthly record. It was N15.06 billion in November 2024. It also contributed to the boost in the services sector which drove the GDP performance to a 3.84 percent growth in Q4 2024. This saw the outpouring of the Point of Sale (PoS) terminals into space.

The trend also contributed to the FAAC revenue expansion through the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) which rose by N51.58 billion to N149.56 billion as of June 2025, against N98.98 billion achieved in the equivalent period of 2024, which represents an increase of 51.64 percent.

The EMTL is a government-imposed fee on digital transactions conducted via platforms such as mobile money, internet banking, and other electronic payment methods.

It applies to all electronic transfers of funds placed in a Nigerian-licensed bank or financial institution.

The levy is imposed as a singular and one-off charge of ₦50 on electronic transfers or electronic receipts of money in the sum of ₦10,000 or more. Transfers under ₦10,000 and between accounts within the same financial institution are outside of the scope of EMTL.

Similarly, total income from the electronic businesses of the country’s five largest banks rose to N676.9 billion in 2024, up 74.54 percent from N387.8 billion recorded in 2023. UBA topped with N284.7 billion. Access Holdings and Zenith Bank followed closely, raking in N178.6 billion and N80.1 billion from digital channels, respectively, while First Holdco recorded N77 billion and GTCO made N56.5 billion.

Earnings from electronic banking include fees charged to customers for the use of digital channels, such as debit cards, mobile applications, USSD channels, POS, and other related online banking services.

In a similar vein, MTN Nigeria reported a net income of N414.9 billion for H1 2025 earned from its role as an enabler in the economy. This marks a 180 percent year-on-year growth from the N519.1 billion net loss reported in H1 2024.

NIBSS, in its role as a key player in the Nigerian financial ecosystem, has been instrumental in driving digital infrastructure and innovation which facilitate transactions that boost the economy.

“With NIBSS as the enabler, working in tandem with the telecom firms and other participants in the value chain, the success story of the services sector would not happen if NIBSS is not there, or if it is not improving its infrastructure towards attaining the global trend. You can imagine what would be the fate of our economy without an efficient payment system,” said Nethan Akor, a telecom service expert.

Innovation drive

NIBSS, in its role as a key player in the Nigerian financial ecosystem, has been instrumental in driving digital infrastructure and innovation, a major factor that accounts for the expansion of the services sector.

According to the Managing Director/CEO, Premier Oiwoh, NIBBS upgrades its systems continuously. A reason for this is that NIBSS was established to carry on business as a service-oriented institution providing mechanisms for problem-solving innovations, especially as there has been a remarkable increase in the Bank Verification Number (BVN) across the banks.

Based on the latest data released by NIBSS, total BVN enrollment, which stood at 63.47 million at the end of 2024, increased to 66.23 million in July this year. This means that 2.76 million BVN enrolments were recorded during that period.

Enter NPS, NQR

In June 2025, NIBSS launched the National Payment Switch (NPS) as part of its broader efforts to drive innovation in the Nigerian payment landscape which has lead to the development of new and more efficient payment solutions.

The NPS is expected to improve the speed and efficiency of payments, potentially leading to same-day clearing and settlement of high-value inter-bank transfers. The NPS is designed to streamline payment processes and potentially reduce bottlenecks and delays in settlements.

NIBSS had earlier launched other initiatives including the New Quick Response (NQR) payment platform, considered a revolutionary solution designed to transform how Nigerians pay for goods and services. NQR enables consumers to scan QR codes directly from their bank mobile applications for end-to-end transactions.

The platform caters to a broad range of use cases, including: Making payments fast and convenient for shoppers and merchants; Enabling digital payments for taxis, buses, and other transport services; Allowing users to pay utility bills, subscriptions, and more with a simple scan; Providing cost-effective payment options for SMEs to scale their operations.

Industry experts observe that the absence of NIBSS would lead to increased transaction costs, delays, and potential instability in the financial system, thereby frustrating the expansion of the services sector that boosts the GDP.

First Published on THEWILL