From N189.50 billion to N387.19 billion, Nigerians spent 387.19 percent more on electronic bills including power and other utilities. In the first four months of 2019 to N923.24bn in the corresponding period of 2022, indicating an increase in the use of e-channels by Nigerians.
According to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System, e-bills payment includes everyday bill payment. It is an accessible and seamless account-based e-bill payment channel, with online real-time transaction reporting, biller notification, and easy reconciliation. Data from the NIBSS revealed a surge in the usage of e-bills pay after the onset of the pandemic. e-BillPay channels received N189.50 billion in payments in the first four months of2019, and N363.87 billion in the first four months of 2020.
The report demonstrates continued development in the payment channel, with N716.99 billion paid between January and April 2021. According to the NIBSS, e-BillsPay touch points include bank branches, Internet banking, mobile banking, USSD, and agent networks. Olojo said, “COVID contributed to the growth of electronic payment. It taught us many ways of doing things differently. For things we thought needed a second party to carry out, COVID has shown us that we can do them by ourselves.
According to a telecom industry expert in one of the telecom firms, mobile is driving the growth of e-bills payments. The payment channel’s convenience and speed are also factors in its popularity. People can pay on the go and get the service immediately.
Convenience and speed are the two key drivers for it. Convenience and speed are what is driving this. Mobile is driving this adoption fast. Mobile allows for on-the-go payment, mobile is the way to go, mobile is what is driving adoption.”
-Punch.
