A new report from KPMG reveals that weekly ATM usage among Nigerians dropped from 70% in the past few years to 40% in 2023.
The report titled “In Pursuit Value” surveyed customers of Nigerian and Ghanaian banks and curated their experiences during the year 2023.
According to the survey, ATM usage in Nigeria has witnessed a notable decline due to the regular unavailability of cash in many stations.
It further stated that the medium digital transactions dropped from the top to outside the top ten in the survey.
It stated,
The report further noted that the rise in agency banking emphasizes the continued popularity of cash, underscoring customers’ quest for more readily available cash options, primarily driven by the popularity of bank agents across the nation.
Furthermore, the survey noted that payment via digital mediums rose by 52% in 2023 between January and October according to NIBSS data.
It explained that the spike in digital payments was triggered by the cash crunch occasioned by the CBN’s naira redesign policy in the first quarter of 2023.
It stated,
It further explained that the rise in digital payment overwhelmed Tier-1 banks with multiple cases of transaction failure but fintechs such as Opay, PalmPay, and Moniepoint rose to the challenge leading to a significant change in customers’ preferences.
According to the survey, 58% of respondents switched banks or had reasons to change to fintechs during the period. This presents a radical shift from the 15% who switched banks in 2022.
Also, around 13% of retail banking respondents now rely on fintech for their primary banking needs from the 4% who made the switch in 2022.
