Point of Sale (POS) terminals processed a total of N223.27 trillion worth of transactions across Nigeria in 2024. This figure is more than double the N110.35 trillion recorded in 2023, showing how Nigerians are quickly shifting away from Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) towards POS services for their everyday financial transactions.
The figures were released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in its latest quarterly statistical bulletin. The report shows that the number of POS transactions jumped from 9.85 billion in 2023 to 13.08 billion in 2024, a 32.7 per cent year-on-year increase. On the other hand, ATM usage barely grew, rising slightly from 1.012 billion to 1.022 billion transactions.
In terms of value, ATM withdrawals in 2024 totalled N29.12 trillion, just slightly up from N28.21 trillion in 2023. This shows a clear slowdown in cash withdrawals from ATMs, as Nigerians now rely more on POS terminals for payments and cash access.
Data from the CBN shows a consistent increase in POS usage each month. In January 2024, Nigerians made POS transactions worth N11.50 trillion, over twice the N5.28 trillion recorded in January 2023. At the same time, ATM withdrawals dropped sharply to N2.15 trillion from N3.24 trillion the year before.
The trend continued in February with POS transactions reaching N12.46 trillion, up from N7.38 trillion in February 2023. ATM withdrawals for the month also declined slightly from N1.77 trillion to N1.72 trillion. In March, POS transactions stood at N14.73 trillion, while ATM usage dropped to N1.60 trillion compared to N2.16 trillion in March 2023.
By April 2024, the POS value rose to N13.74 trillion, compared to N8.55 trillion in April 2023. ATM usage fell again, reaching N1.81 trillion, down from N2.41 trillion in the same period. In May, POS transactions rose to N13.91 trillion, compared to N8.30 trillion in May 2023, while ATM withdrawals dropped slightly to N2.49 trillion.
In June, POS transaction value surged to N19.57 trillion from N8.31 trillion the previous year. Meanwhile, ATM usage remained almost unchanged at N2.45 trillion, despite the transaction volume rising to over 113 million. This suggests more people were withdrawing smaller amounts more frequently.
July saw ATM withdrawals increase to N3.21 trillion, up from N2.24 trillion in July 2023, while POS usage rose to N15.24 trillion. In August, POS transactions hit N18.90 trillion, more than double the N9.10 trillion in the same month of 2023. ATM withdrawals were also slightly higher at N2.21 trillion.
By September, POS usage climbed to N19.69 trillion from N9.40 trillion a year earlier. ATM usage moved slightly to N2.30 trillion. In October, the value of POS transactions jumped to N22.27 trillion, while ATM withdrawals dropped to N1.93 trillion from N2.54 trillion, the lowest ATM figure in 2024.
November saw a big spike in POS transactions, hitting N29.42 trillion compared to N11.28 trillion in November 2023. ATM withdrawals increased to N3.35 trillion. In December 2024, POS usage peaked at N31.84 trillion, while ATM withdrawals also reached their highest point for the year at N3.91 trillion.
Despite this growth in POS transactions, many Nigerians faced challenges during the festive season. In December, most ATMs were either empty or dispensing very little cash. Some bank branches even turned customers back, only offering limited withdrawals of N10,000 or N20,000. This forced many Nigerians to depend on POS agents, who increased their charges by over 100 per cent, collecting up to N200 for a N5,000 withdrawal.
This situation continued even after the festive season. POS agents blamed the hike on limited cash supply by banks and the Federal Inland Revenue Service’s N50 electronic money transfer levy on amounts of N10,000 and above. The Federal Government started enforcing this levy across fintech platforms such as OPay, Moniepoint, and Kuda on December 1, 2024. These platforms account for about 70 per cent of POS agents in the country.
Meanwhile, fraud has become a growing problem in the POS system. A report by FITC, titled “Fraud and Forgeries in Nigerian Banks,” showed that POS fraud cases increased by 31.12 per cent in the first quarter of 2024. The number of fraud cases rose from 2,683 in the last quarter of 2023 to 3,518 in Q1 2024. POS fraud alone made up over 30 per cent of the total 11,472 fraud cases reported in Q1.
To tackle this, the CBN introduced a daily withdrawal limit of N100,000 for individual customers at POS terminals. Agents are limited to a daily cash-out total of N1.2 million and customers cannot withdraw more than N500,000 in a week.
The CBN also mandated that all POS agents must use float accounts and that their terminals must be connected to the Payments Terminal Service Aggregator. Daily transaction reports are now to be submitted electronically to the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS). Principals of agent operations are required to monitor all transactions tied to their agents’ BVNs, and they will be held responsible for any fraudulent activities. Banks that fail to comply face monetary fines and administrative sanctions.
The CBN has already fined nine commercial banks N150 million each for failing to make cash available at ATMs during the festive season. These include Fidelity Bank, First Bank, Keystone Bank, Union Bank, Globus Bank, Providus Bank, Zenith Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), and Sterling Bank.
