Nigeria tops digital payment progress

It's not just a Nigerian story: the Worldpay Global Payments Report notes that in the last 10 years, there has been a huge surge in the use of digital payments across the world. "Nigeria recorded the steepest decline in cash transactions to surpass six cash-reliant economies in the past decade thanks to the rapid adoption of digital payments and rising fintech partnerships, according to a report by global payment processing company WorldPay," reports TechCabal. "From 2014 to 2024, cash transactions in Nigeria fell by 59%, the largest drop among the seven major economies analysed. The Philippines followed with a decline (43%), while Indonesia (44%), Mexico (41%), Japan (31%), Germany (24%), and Colombia (22%) also saw drops in cash usage. The Worldpay report noted that while Nigeria remains a cash-heavy economy, the rate of cash has slashed by more than half from 91% since 2019, noting that 'Mobile devices are playing a central role in the transformation'." The result has been an upwards move in the rate of financial inclusion from 56% in 2020 to 64% in 2023, with the Central Bank of Nigeria projecting recently that the rate will rise to 80% by next year. Players such as PalmPay and OPay have helped drive those increases, along with new digital payments offerings from banks.