ATM queues vanish as PoS withdrawals jump by 77%

BUSINESSDAY NG

[…] Faith is one of many Nigerians who have embraced PoS terminals as their primary sources of cash. According to new data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the total value of ATM transactions fell by 19.87 percent year-on-year (y-o-y) to N12.21 trillion between January and June 2024, from N14.63 trillion in the corresponding period of 2023.

On the other hand, the value of PoS transactions (merchant and withdrawal) rose by 77.35 percent to N85.92 trillion.

Within this time, the total number of registered PoS terminals increased from 3.22 million to 3.97 million, with deployed terminals rising from 2.29 million to 2.94 million, driven by the growth of fintech companies such as Opay, Paga, and Moniepoint.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Nigeria has about 1,600 PoS operators every square kilometer. Meanwhile, it has 14 ATMs per 100,000 adults, compared to 31 in Egypt.

In 2022, McKinsey noted that there were over 700 mobile money and banking agents for every 100,000 Nigerian adults, with 43 agents for each ATM in the country. This shortfall has led to a dependence on the country’s over two million PoS operators for cash, especially after a cash shortage crisis in 2023 underscored the relevance of agents who always had cash.