E-Financial
Consumer Appetite for Digital Payments Takes Off in Nigeria- Mastercard New Payments Index Reveals
As the world went into pandemic lockdown in 2020, consumers shifted their spending habits to embrace contactless tap-and-go payments and online shopping.
As stores closed and social distancing took hold, retailers worldwide moved their businesses online, embraced e-commerce and explored the potential of new ways to pay.
More than a year later, research from Mastercard shows that the adoption of new payment technologies is rising, and consumer appetite for new, fast and flexible digital experiences continues to grow.
The Mastercard New Payments Index shows 96% of Nigerian consumers will consider using at least one emerging payment method, such as cryptocurrency, biometrics, contactless, or QR code, in the next year.
Over two-thirds of respondents (66%) agree they have tried a new payment method they would not have tried under normal circumstances, but the pandemic has galvanized people to try flexible new payment options to get what they want, when they want it.
With this interest and consumer demand also comes a greater expectation for businesses to provide multiple ways to shop and pay.
In fact, 81% of Nigerian consumers say they are more excited about shopping at retailers who offer the latest payment methods.
Additionally, (78%) Nigerian consumers say that digital payment methods help them save money.
“The pandemic made us think differently, partly out of necessity,” said Craig Vosburg, Chief Product Officer at Mastercard.
“To deliver the choice and flexibility that consumers need – and increasingly expect –retailers worldwide need to offer a range of payment solutions that are easy to access and always on.
“As we look ahead, we need to continue to enable all choices, both in-store and online, to shape the fabric of commerce and make the digital economy work for everyone.”
Contactless technology was the digital catalyst to explore new payment options because of its fast, secure, and touch-free experience.
Between the first quarter of 2020 and the same period in 2021, more than 100 markets saw contactless as a share of total in-person transactions grow by at least 50 percent.
A year into the COVID-19 pandemic, contactless is showing its staying power and dynamism – in the first quarter of 2021 alone, Mastercard saw 1 billion more contactless transactions worldwide as compared to the same period of 2020.
All signs point to a continued growth path for contactless, with nearly 7 in 10 consumers globally anticipating using a contactless card this year.
“The world as we now know it has changed dramatically since the outbreak of the pandemic, accelerating long-term shifts in consumer transaction and payment methods.
We continue to work with our merchants, fintechs and banking partners to rapidly innovate payment options that meet consumer needs while ensuring we drive financial and digital inclusion,” said Raghav Prasad, Division President, Mastercard, Sub-Saharan Africa.
Looking to the future, digital currencies and wallets, wearables, biometrics, contactless and QR codes are trending as emerging payments technologies as people’s comfort with them and understanding of them increases and the use of cash decreases.
In fact, 86% of consumers in Nigeria have more ways to pay compared to this time last year. The exploding interest in new payment technologies may encourage businesses to expand their options at checkout. The Mastercard New Payment Index found:
- Cryptocurrency1Gains Ground – Today consumers can buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrency as a commodity or investment. Consumers are also increasingly showing interest in being able to spend crypto assets for everyday purchases. As global interest in digital currencies continues to accelerate, 6 in 10 people (65%) in Nigeria say they plan to use cryptocurrency in the next year, with 76% noting they are more open to using it than they were a year ago. While consumer interest in cryptocurrency – especially floating digital currencies such as Bitcoin – is high, work is still required to ensure consumer choice, protection, and their regulatory compliance. Earlier this year, Mastercard announced that it will start supporting select cryptocurrencies directly on its network.
- Biometric Payments are More Trustworthy – Perceptions of safety and convenience have been front and center for people over the past year. 49% of Nigerian consumers say they plan to use biometric verification methods like gait or walk assessments and fingerprint authorization. In fact, over 6 out of 10 people (66%) feel safer using biometrics to verify a purchase than entering a pin.
- QR Codes are Cleaner and More Convenient – Growing markets are leveraging QR-based options as a clean and convenient way to interact with merchants. Consumer desire for clean and convenient ways to pay will remain post-pandemic. 54% of people in Nigeria expect to use more payment technologies like QR codes in the next year. Consumers also find that that QR codes are cleaner (75%) and more convenient (77%) for in-person payments and have a significant potential to reduce cost of payment acceptance and increase financial
- Digital Wallets Surge in Popularity – Nigeria is seeing a surge in the popularity of digital wallets. 73% of Nigerian consumers said they were likely to use digital wallets next year. 66% of shoppers even say that they feel safer storing their card information in one place such as a digital wallet.
To Meet People’s Demands, Businesses Forced to Jump into Emerging Payment Trends
With consumer interest around new payment technologies, the expectation for businesses to adapt for the long-term is here to stay. Over three in four Nigerian consumers (84%) say that they would shop at small businesses, if they offered more payment options, and 81% noted being more excited to shop at retailers that can offer the latest payment methods, and an equal proportion (81%) said they would be more loyal to retailers who offered multiple payment options.
This behavior shift is reinforced by the desire for consumer choice – with 89% saying that they expect to make purchases when they want and how they want. The businesses that can provide multiple ways to shop and pay are best positioned to meet these expectations.
As the demand for emerging payments and choice continues, it requires a wider range of payment solutions, insights, and products to meet the accelerating enthusiasm for the future state of pay.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has commenced the implementation of a fully electronic registration system for capital market operators, marking a major milestone in its digital transformation drive aimed at improving regulatory efficiency, reducing processing time and strengthening oversight of Nigeria’s capital market.
The new electronic registration (e-Registration) platform, deployed through the Commission’s ePortal, allows designated regulatory services to be completed entirely online, eliminating manual processes for services covered in the current phase.
The initiative comes as the SEC intensifies reforms to modernise the Nigerian capital market, enhance the ease of doing business and leverage technology to improve service delivery to market participants.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Commission said Capital Market Operators (CMOs) can now complete designated post-registration processes electronically, from application submission and regulatory review to approvals and the communication of regulatory decisions.
According to the regulator, the platform is designed to simplify interactions between operators and the Commission, reduce administrative bottlenecks, shorten processing timelines and give applicants real-time visibility into the status of their applications.
The SEC said the transition to a fully digital registration process would also improve operational efficiency by introducing standardised workflows, electronic documentation, secure digital record management and stronger audit trails, while enhancing regulatory oversight.
“The new platform represents a major step towards creating a seamless digital regulatory ecosystem that enhances operational efficiency while strengthening regulatory effectiveness,” the Commission stated.
Beyond improving efficiency, the regulator said the platform would reinforce the integrity of regulatory processes by minimising delays associated with paper-based documentation and improving the quality of regulatory data used for supervision and decision-making.
It added that the digital system would provide a stronger foundation for regulatory analytics and future technology-driven innovations aimed at enhancing market oversight.
The Commission explained that the implementation is being rolled out in phases to ensure a smooth transition for market participants while safeguarding the stability and integrity of regulatory processes.
For now, the e-Registration platform is limited to post-registration services for existing Capital Market Operators.
entrants seeking registration in the Nigerian capital market are not yet covered under the current phase, adding that electronic processing for new registrations will be introduced at a later date.
The Commission urged all licensed operators to familiarise themselves with the new platform and comply with implementation timelines to ensure a seamless migration to the digital system.
The latest move forms part of the SEC’s broader reform agenda to modernise market infrastructure, improve transparency and strengthen investor confidence as Nigeria seeks to deepen its capital market and enhance its competitiveness in the global financial system.
Market observers believe the digital registration initiative is expected to reduce compliance costs, improve regulatory turnaround time and support a more efficient operating environment for licensed operators, while reinforcing the Commission’s push towards a technology-driven capital market ecosystem.
Elon Musk’s social media company X, formerly known as Twitter, launched its own bank account-like product where users can send money to one another.
The service, known as X Money, is not a new bank.
X Money is using technology and banking services provided by Cross River Bank, and branding that backbone as X Money.
It is common for new financial companies to use a traditional bank’s backbone to launch its services, as chartering a new bank is a timely and costly process.
Currently X Money is invite only, and users will receive a “X”-branded Visa debit card that is useable at any ATM.
Users of X will be able to send money to other X users in real-time, the company said. Invitations are only available to X’s paying members presently
In order to attract customers, X Money is offering a 6% yield on deposits and 3% cashback on eligible purchases.
In order to earn the 6% yield, a customer would need to deposit at least $1,000 into an account.
Customers would also have to be signed up for X’s premium services, which is at least $8 a month. It would require at least a deposit of $1,600 in order to cover X’s premium services cost.
Musk has long talked about turning X into an “everything app” that would include financial services.
Musk has his origins in financial services, creating one of the first online banks under the brand X.com. That company was later bought and merged into what is now known as PayPal.
It’s still early for X Money, but the company is entering into a competitive market, dominated by PayPal’s Venmo money transfer service and other peer-to-peer money transfer services like Zelle and Cash App.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) imposed N430 million in penalties on financial institutions in 2025 over delays in resolving customer complaints and failure to comply with its directives, underscoring a tougher regulatory stance on consumer protection in the banking sector.
The sanctions were disclosed in the apex bank’s 2025 Annual Report, which showed that 21 penalties worth N430 million were imposed on financial institutions during the review period for infractions linked to complaints management.
According to Nairametrics, the report stated that the affected institutions were sanctioned for “delays in resolving customer complaints to failure to comply with the Bank’s directives.”
The report read, “the Bank imposed 21 penalties on financial institutions to the tune of N430.00 million, for infractions ranging from delays in resolving customer complaints to failure to comply with the Bank’s directives.”
The latest enforcement action comes as the CBN recorded a rise in the number of complaints lodged by users of financial services, suggesting greater reliance on the regulator’s consumer protection framework.
According to the report, the CBN received 23,129 complaints from consumers of financial services in 2025, representing a 10.53% increase from the 20,925 complaints recorded in 2024.
The apex bank attributed the increase to growing public awareness and stronger confidence in its complaint resolution process rather than a deterioration in banking services.
The report stated, “The Bank received a total of 23,129 complaints from consumers of financial services in 2025, a rise of 10.53%, above the 20,925 in 2024. The trend reflected increased awareness and improved confidence in the Bank’s consumer complaint resolution process.”
It added that 18,824 complaints were successfully resolved during the year, representing a 9.36% increase from the 17,213 complaints resolved in 2024.
The report also showed a sharp increase in the value of claims handled by the regulator.
Claims denominated in local currency rose to N40.61 billion in 2025 from N17.13 billion a year earlier, while foreign currency claims climbed to $344.2 million from $1.06 million.
consumers recovered N19.12 billion and $329.3 million in refunds during the year, compared with N9.66 billion and $0.67 million refunded in 2024.
Beyond the N430 million sanctions relating to customer complaints, the CBN disclosed that it imposed another 11 penalties worth N1.26 billion on financial institutions for regulatory breaches and failure to respond to regulatory queries.
The report indicates that complaints management formed part of a wider overhaul of the CBN’s supervisory and market conduct framework in 2025.
In 2022, the CBN issued a guide on how aggrieved customers can complain about financial institutions such as commercial banks.
The regulator established a dedicated Compliance Department to strengthen oversight of financial crime, market conduct, complaints management, advertising standards, cybersecurity, data protection and corporate governance across CBN-regulated institutions.
Olayemi Cardoso, governor, CBN, recently said that the CBN and deposit money banks are reviewing excessive transaction alerts and customer charges amid complaints from bank users over confusing debit notifications and deductions.
Cardoso said the apex bank had set up a quarterly engagement structure involving its consumer protection team, deposit money banks and the top 10 microfinance banks to address unresolved customer complaints.
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