Business
Cash Crunch: E-payment Transactions Rise 298% To N135trn In 3mths
The value of electronic payment transactions rose year-on-year (YoY) by 298 percent to N135.52 trillion in the first quarter of the year (Q1’23) from N34.04 trillion in Q1’22, reflecting the impact of cash scarcity on the payment culture of Nigerians.
The cash scarcity, which lingered for more than two months, was a fallout of the implementation of the Naira Redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN. The policy involved the redesign and release of N200, N500 and N1,000 naira notes.
The apex bank also announced that the old notes would cease to be legal tender by January 31st this year. After much pleading, the CBN moved the date to February 10th. While the CBN withdrew from circulation over N2 trillion of the old notes, the new notes were however not widely available. This led to cash rationing by banks, while PoS agents imposed exorbitant cash exchange charges, sometimes as high as 30% of the transaction value.
READ ALSO: Cash Shortage Exposes E-payment Channels’ Weakness, Says ICAN
This development compelled most Nigerians to adopt electronic channels for payment of goods and services.
Reflecting the impact of this development, e-payment data from the Nigeria Inter-bank Settlement System (NIBSS) released yesterday showed that the number (volume) of e-payment transactions shot up by 984 percent to 4.7 billion in Q1’23 from 433.4 million in Q1’22, while the value rose year-on-year (YoY) by 298 percent to N135.52 trillion in the first quarter of the year (Q1’23) from N34.04 trillion in Q1’22.
READ ALSO: PoS Transactions Grow By 40%, E-payment Hits N39.58tn – NIBSS
Analysis of data showed that the value of e-payment transactions stood at N42.42 trillion in January but went down by 4.3 percent, month-on-month, to N40.6 trillion in February from where it rose by 34 percent to N54.5 trillion in March.
The volume of e-payment transactions stood at 1.12 billion in January rising by 29 percent, MoM to 1.45 billion in February and up by 46 percent, MoM to 2.13 billion in March.
NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) channel had the highest value of transactions with N123.72 trillion and the largest volume of transactions with 2.5 billion during the period.
Business
CBN Retains Interest Rate At 27%
The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria has voted to retain the benchmark interest rate at 27 per cent.
CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, announced the decision on Tuesday following the apex bank’s 303rd MPC meeting in Abuja.
Cardoso stated that the committee also resolved to keep all other monetary policy indicators unchanged.
READ ALSO:CBN Issues Directive Clarifying Holding Companies’ Minimum Capital
He noted that the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) remains at 45 per cent for commercial banks and 16 per cent for merchant banks, while the 75 per cent CRR on non-TSA public sector deposits was equally maintained.
Cardoso added that the Liquidity Ratio was retained at 30 per cent, and the Standing Facilities Corridor was adjusted to +50/-450 basis points around the Monetary Policy Rate.
The decision comes as Nigeria records its seventh consecutive month of declining inflation, which eased to 16.05 per cent in September 2025.
Business
CBN Issues Directive Clarifying Holding Companies’ Minimum Capital
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has issued a definitive directive detailing how financial holding companies should calculate their minimum paid-up capital, following weeks of confusion that delayed the release of some banks’ half-year and nine-month financial statements.
In a circular dated November 14, 2025, the apex bank acknowledged “divergent interpretations” of the term minimum paid-up capital as stated in Section 7.1 of the 2014 Guidelines for Licensing and Regulation of Financial Holding Companies.
To eliminate ambiguity, the CBN ruled that minimum paid-up capital must be computed strictly as the par value of issued shares plus any share premium arising from their issuance.
READ ALSO:CBN Sets POS Maximum Transactions In Fresh Guidelines
“All Financial Holding Companies are required to apply this definition in computing their minimum capital requirement—without exception for subsidiaries,” the circular stated.
The regulator added that the directive takes immediate effect, noting that any previous interpretation that does not align with the new clarification “should be discontinued forthwith.”
The move is expected to calm market anxiety and provide clarity for lenders navigating ongoing regulatory capital requirements.
Business
Naira Records Massive Week-on-week Depreciation Against US Dollar
The Nigerian Naira recorded massive week-on-week losses against the United States dollar at the official foreign exchange market.
The Central Bank of Nigeria’s exchange rate showed that the Naira dipped significantly to end the week at N1,456.73 on Friday, November 21, 2025, down from N1,442.43 traded on November 14.
This means that on a weekly basis, the Naira shed N14.06 against the dollar at the official market.
READ ALSO:
However, at the black market, currently battling with low patronage, it remained stable at N1,465, the same rate traded last week.
The development comes despite Nigeria’s foreign reserves rising by 1.25 per cent to $43.64 billion in the last week.
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