According to a recent KPMG report, Nigerians’ weekly ATM usage decreased from 70% in the previous few years to 40% in 2023.
The “In Pursuit Value” research collected customer experiences from 2023 through a survey of bank clients in Ghana and Nigeria.
The poll claims that because cash is frequently unavailable at many ATMs, ATM usage in Nigeria has significantly decreased.
Four out of ten consumers said that they were using the ATM once a week, which was a significant decrease from the seven out of ten who used one during the past few years. Six out of ten clients visited bank agents every week, which is a considerable increase in agency banking usage concurrent with this fall in ATM usage.
The research went on to say that the growth of agency banking highlights the persistence of cash’s appeal and highlights consumers’ desire for more easily accessible cash options, which is mostly due to bank agents’ widespread popularity in the country.
Additionally, the poll reported that, according to NIBSS statistics, payments made through digital channels increased by 52% in 2023 between January and October.
In the first quarter of 2023, the CBN’s naira redesign programme caused cash constraints, which in turn caused a jump in digital payments.
As a result, the number of digital payments increased dramatically, with total NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) transactions rising by 52% by October 2023 when compared to January of the same year. The Central Bank of Nigeria’s move to reform the Naira to control cash circulation and lower reliance on physical money set this off.
It went on to say that the surge in digital payments overloaded Tier-1 banks with numerous instances of unsuccessful transactions; however, fintech companies like Opay, PalmPay, and Moniepoint stepped up to the plate and significantly altered consumer preferences.
As to the survey, 58% of the participants changed banks or had reasons to move to fintech companies during that time. This represents a significant departure from the 15% of people who changed banks in 2022.
Furthermore, of the retail banking respondents, 13% currently use fintech for their primary banking requirements, compared to 4% who did so in 2022.