Ten major financial institutions in Nigeria have accumulated around ₦438 billion from digital transactions in 2023.
The earnings of the banking group from electronic transactions rose by 37.54 percent from ₦318.64 billion in 2022 to ₦438 billion in 2023. Electronic channels include mobile applications, USSD channels, automated teller machines, agency banking, internet banking, point of sale payments, as well as credit and debit card transactions.
E-business income includes revenue from electronic channels, card products, and related services. The growth in the electronic business income was driven by the increasing popularity of mobile and online banking in Nigeria.
Some of the banks’ annual reports analyzed are FBN Holdings, Access Holdings, Guaranty Trust Holding Company, United Bank for Africa, Zenith Bank, Wema Bank, Fidelity Bank, FCMB Group, Stanbic IBTC Holdings and Sterling Financial Holdings Company.
UBA emerged as the leading bank in terms of revenue from electronic banking, recording ₦125.58 billion in 2023 compared to ₦78.94 billion in 2022. Additionally, the banking group’s IT support and related expenses surged by 148 percent to ₦23.19 billion from ₦9.32 billion in the previous year.
Access Holdings reported an income of ₦101.62 billion from its electronic business, encompassing transactions on electronic channels, card products, and related services. This marked a substantial 70.34 percent increase compared to the electronic business income in 2022. Additionally, the group’s IT and e-business expenses rose during the period under review to ₦78.05 billion from ₦44.63 billion in 2022.
In its recently released audited statements, FBN Holdings disclosed earnings of ₦66.34 billion from its electronic business, surpassing the ₦55.09 billion recorded in the previous year. The bank attributed electronic banking fees as a significant contributor to the growth of its fees and commission income.
“The underlying drivers of fees and commission were led by electronic banking fees (20.4 per cent) to ₦66.3bn billion, Letters of credit commission and fees (278.4 per cent) to ₦60.6bn, Account maintenance fees (12.3 per cent) to ₦22.3bn and funds transfer and intermediation fees (204.9 per cent) to ₦20.6bn.
“Customer acquisition drive has also been enhanced through a growing adoption across digital platforms and greater penetration of the unbanked segments through the agency banking network, further boosting financial inclusion drive.”
Furthermore, Zenith Bank reported earnings of ₦51.82 billion from electronic banking fees in 2023, marking a 13.29 percent increase from ₦45.74 billion in the previous year.
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