…E-Payment Transactions Surge To N284.9Trn In Q1 2025
The Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) has reported that banks in the country closed 29.4 million accounts as of March 2025, even as dormant accounts in the banking system surged to 33.39 million at the end of the first quarter this year.
It classifies a dormant account as one that has seen no deposit, withdrawal, transfer, or point-of-sale transaction for a period of six months.
The latest report by the agency reflected the closed accounts represented 30.43 per cent year-on-year increase from the 22.54 million closed accounts recorded as of the end of the first quarter in 2024, also indicating a steady rise, with 33.29 million closed accounts in February 2025 and 29.43 million in January this year.
The report also revealed a significant increase in dormant accounts, which surged to 33.39 million in March 2025, up from 19.79 million in the same period in 2024, a 71.3 per cent rise in inactive accounts over the past year.
Despite the spike in closures and dormant accounts, the number of active bank accounts rose from 219.64 million in March 2024 to 320.05 million in March 2025, representing an increase of over 100 million, or 45.7 per cent.
NIBSS classifies a dormant account as one that has seen no deposit, withdrawal, transfer, or point-of-sale transaction for a period of six months.
Similarly, the report further indicated that Electronic payment transactions in Nigeria rose to N284.9 trillion in the first quarter of 2025 while the value recorded on the NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) represents a 22% increase over the N234.4 trillion transactions recorded in Q1 2024.
The surge in account closures and dormancy follows the Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive issued in December 2023, mandating commercial banks to restrict Tier-1 accounts not linked to a Bank Verification Number (BVN) and National Identification Number (NIN) by March 1, 2024.
In response to the directive, BVN enrolment increased from 61.6 million in April 2024 to 66.23 million by July 2025, as more Nigerians rushed to meet the CBN’s compliance deadline.