12 Banks Rake N133.9bn from Electronic Transactions

By Ahmed Rahma

The advancement of technology and the introduction of new online payment platforms have helped the revenue generation of financial institutions in the country.

In the first nine months of this year, 12 lenders increased their revenues from the system by 11 per cent year-on-year to N133.92 billion N120.36 billion in the same period of 2019, according to the latest study by Agusto & Co.

This information was drawn from the unaudited financial reports of Access Bank Plc, First Bank of Nigeria Plc, First City Monument Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc, Sterling Bank Plc, Jaiz Bank Plc, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, Wema Bank Plc, Unity Bank Plc and Stanbic IBTC Plc.

The adoption of electronic channels for financial transactions became more necessary this year following the lockdown imposed by the government in the peak of COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria.

In order to adhere to the social distancing rule, some customers have continued to embrace digital transactions and avoid the banking hall for various financial transactions.

According to a report, the partnership between the deposit money banks and financial technology companies significantly contributed to the earnings of these banks.

In the report, it was stated that the income on electronic business came from Automated Teller Machine transactions, USSD, online transfer, electronic bills payments, Remita, Point of Sale payments and agency banking, among others.

It was revealed that Access Bank grew its income from electronic payments by 105 per cent from N18.96 billion in 2019 to N38.80 billion in 2020.

On its part, First Bank had a marginal increase of 0.5 per cent to N34.59 billion from N34.42 billion, while FCMB Plc recorded 17 per cent year-on-year contraction as its fees and commission on digital payments dropped to N6.62 billion from N7.98 billion.

Also, Fidelity Bank Plc recorded an e-payment loss of 34 per cent in the nine-month period under review to N1.74 billion as against N2.63 billion in 2019 and with N8.21 billion e-payments revenue from January to September 2020, GTB Plc reported a 26 per cent reduction in its electronic banking income from N11.04 billion earned in the corresponding period in 2019.

The non-interest lender, Jaiz Bank, recorded a contraction of 24 per cent on its electronic payment earnings as it reported N307.55 million in the first nine months of 2020 in contrast to N406.65 million achieved in 2019.

Stanbic IBTC Plc’s earnings from its electronic products also slumped in the nine-month period under review, recording a 15 per cent reduction in income from N2.49 billion earned in 2019 to N2.12 billion in 2020.

For Sterling Bank Plc, it earned N4.31 billion from its electronic products in the first nine months of 2020, 16 per cent lower than the N5.11 billion recorded last year, while Union Bank Plc generated N5.34 billion from electronic payments charges this year, five per cent lower than the N5.6 billion earned in 2019.

UBA Plc’s electronic business income grew by four per cent, as it reported N27.87 billion as its e-payment earnings in 2020 versus N26.71 billion in 2019, while Unity Bank Plc recorded e-payment loss of 11 per cent in the period under review to N1.74 billion from N2.63 billion in 2019.

From Wema Bank Plc’s financial report, its electronic payment income declined by 28 per cent to N2.02 billion from N2.79 billion in the same period in 2019.