The value of transactions via mobile payment rose by 200 percent to N12 billion in eleven months, reflecting efforts by banks and non-bank financial institutions to encourage Nigerian to use their phones for banking and payment transactions.
According to the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), value of mobile transactions rose from N4.2 billion in 2015 to N12.2 billion at the end of November 2016. Similarly, the volume of mobile transactions grew by 224 percent to 436 million from 134.5 million within the same period.
This growth might by unconnected to recent efforts by banks to promote their mobile banking applications. These include First Bank, Ecobank and Wema Bank, as indicated in the stories and interview below. Ecobank targets 100 million customers with Mobile app and Masterpass QR.