Nigerians switch to PoS, abandon UBA, Zenith, Access, other banks’ ATM

• Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) are rapidly being replaced with Point of Sale (PoS) terminals.
• Nigerian ATM transactions totalled N12.21 trillion successful June 2024, down from N14.63 trillion successful 2023
• As of the archetypal fractional of 2024, Nigeria has an astounding 5.56 cardinal PoS terminals deployed, but conscionable 16,714 ATMs were successful use

Legit.ng writer Zainab Iwayemi has 5-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

The scenery of fiscal transactions successful Nigeria is changing arsenic Point of Sale (PoS) terminals gradually regenerate the once-dominant Automated Teller Machines (ATMs).

Some Nigerians present trust connected these PoS agents arsenic their main root of entree to cash. Photo Credit: Contributor
Source: Getty Images

Recent transaction statistic demonstrated the diminishing value of ATMs, Dailu Sun Findings shows.

The wide worth of ATM transactions successful Nigeria fell from N14.63 trillion successful 2023 to N12.21 trillion successful June 2024, a important year-over-year diminution of astir 20%.

On the different hand, PoS transactions, which see some regular purchases and agent-facilitated currency withdrawals, saw a crisp emergence of much than 77% implicit the aforesaid clip frame, totalling N85.92 trillion.

Fintechs facilitate PoS growth

This transformation, which has been mostly driven by agile fintech entrepreneurs, has upended established banking conventions, forcing deposit money institutions to measurement up their attempts to regain relevance and found a bigger beingness successful the fiercely competitory PoS market.

Deployment information amusement this tremendous change. Nigeria had an awesome 5.56 cardinal deployed PoS terminals arsenic of the archetypal fractional of 2024, whereas conscionable 16,714 ATMs were operational.

Fintech companies similar OPay, Palmpay, and Moniepoint person been instrumental successful this maturation of the PoS network, acknowledgment to their originative tactics and extended reach.

These fintech startups person created a important beingness crossed Nigeria. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected astir 1,600 PoS operators per quadrate kilometre successful the country, with fintechs accounting for astir 1.6 cardinal of the full fig of implicit 2 cardinal operators.

With much than a cardinal operational terminals, Moniepoint handles a staggering N10 trillion successful transactions per month. Palmpay reports a web of much than 600,000 merchants and a notable onboarding of implicit 1.1 cardinal enterprises. By June 2023, OPay had established a sizable web of much than 500,000 mobile agents.

Nigerians trust connected PoS

An expanding fig of Nigerians present trust connected these PoS agents arsenic their main root of entree to currency and different fiscal services owed to their accessibility and convenience.

GSMA, the planetary relation for mobile web operators, has recognised this impact, stating that “The maturation of non-MNO-led mobile wealth providers similar OPay and Palmpay successful Nigeria has driven fiscal inclusion.”

Recognising this dynamic picture, incumbent banks are present strengthening their efforts to instrumentality a larger portion of the PoS market. Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) made a important determination successful February by eliminating processing fees connected each transactions completed done its GTBank PoS terminals for eligible SMEs.

Miriam Olusanya, GTB Nigeria’s Managing Director, explained that this aims to “empower businesses to get the afloat worth of each outgo they receive, whilst besides ensuring a much seamless and businesslike outgo experience.”

A much robust propulsion into retail and bureau banking was besides indicated by United Bank for Africa's (UBA) April deployment of an updated PoS terminal.

UBA’s Group Head of Retail and Digital Banking, Shamsideen Fashola, highlighted the terminal’s capabilities, including “instant settlements, real-time transaction tracking, and unmatched reliability,” designed to empower some merchants and bureau banking operators.

Fintechs were precise assertive with their attack to penetrating the market. Photo Credit: Contribution
Source: Getty Images

An introspection of the information showed that though banks specified arsenic First Bank, GTBank, and Zenith Bank were the archetypal to propulsion for the adoption of PoS successful Nigeria, their archetypal accent connected larger merchants and municipality areas opened the doorway for fintechs to aggressively people the underserved tiny concern assemblage and found wide-ranging bureau networks successful some municipality and agrarian areas.

Victor Olojo, erstwhile nationalist president of the Association of Mobile Money and Banking Agents of Nigeria (AMMBAN), emphasised the disruptive concern models of fintechs, stating, “These fintechs had precise assertive concern models that can marque the strategy enactment by itself.

It was antithetic from the accepted banking model, wherever you would hold for radical to travel into the banking hall. These fintechs were precise assertive with their attack to penetrating the market.”

PoS scams connected the emergence arsenic Nigerians suffer millions

Legit.ng reported that though Point of Sale (PoS) machines person brought important convenience to fiscal transactions successful Nigeria, galore individuals successful the state person fallen prey to fraudulent activities.

The unscrupulous actions of scammers are dissuading galore Nigerians from embracing this exertion for their concern transactions.

This improvement follows Legit.ng's earlier study that Nigerian banks mislaid a monolithic N9.5 cardinal to physics fraud from January to August 2023.

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Source: Legit.ng