Nigeria banks are now going digital 229 branches were reported to be closed in 2024 as customers increasingly turned to Point of Sale (POS) terminals for daily transactions. POS transaction volumes jumped from 9.85 billion in 2023 to 13.08 billion in 2024, a 33% increase.
The value of these transactions more than doubled, rising from ₦110.35 trillion to ₦223.27 trillion. Fintech players like OPay and Moniepoint are outperforming traditional banks in speed, reliability, and ease of use. These resulted to the shutdown of some of the branches in the country.
Some states were hit harder than others Ebonyi lost 89 branches, Oyo 26, Niger 32, Ekiti and Ondo states 18 each. However, not all states branches were reduced as some states like Delta added six new branches Rivers, Edo, Kaduna, and Kano all added 8 branches due to increase in commercial activities in the states and rise in population. The Central Bank fined nine banks ₦1.35 billion for failing to ensure cash availability through ATMs.
