The latest data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement Systems (NIBSS) reveals that licensed mobile money operators, including Palmpay, OPay, and 15 others, processed transactions worth N71.5 trillion between January and December 2024. This marks a 53.4% increase from the N46.6 trillion recorded in 2023.
Transaction volumes also surged, rising by 23% from 3 billion in 2023 to 3.9 billion in 2024, underscoring the growing adoption of mobile financial services in Nigeria.
Despite a temporary setback in April 2024—when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) halted new customer onboarding for OPay, Palmpay, Paga, Moniepoint, and Kuda Bank over concerns about cryptocurrency-related transactions—mobile money operators rebounded strongly, contributing to a record year for digital payments.
The CBN’s revised cashless policy, which limits individual cash withdrawals to N500,000 per week and corporate withdrawals to N5 million per week, has further driven e-payment adoption. As a result, total transactions across all electronic channels in Nigeria reached an all-time high of N1.07 quadrillion in 2024.
With 17 licensed mobile money operators and over 200 fintech companies in Nigeria, the industry is poised for further growth, fueled by rising smartphone penetration and increasing consumer reliance on digital payments.
