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Seven Nigerian banks rake in N132.45 billion from e-business in half-year 2024 

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Seven Nigerian banks generated a cumulative N132.45 billion from e-business operations in the first half of 2024, reflecting a significant uptick in digital banking adoption across the country.

These banks include FBN Holdings, Zenith, GTCO Holdings Stanbic IBTC, Wema, FCMB, and Sterling Financial Holding.

This amount, as revealed in their respective half-year 2024 financial results, represents a substantial increase for several top financial institutions, as they continue to leverage technology to offer seamless services to their customers.

E-business revenue for the banks includes income from transactions carried out by their customers on digital platforms such as Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), mobile banking and payments, Internet banking, Point of sale (POS) terminals, and Electronic funds transfer (EFT).

Specifically, tier-1 bank, Zenith emerged as the highest earner from e-business activities, generating N41.2 billion in half-year 2024, a remarkable 85.6% increase from the N22.2 billion it earned in H1 2023.

FBN Holdings came behind Zenith in terms of e-business revenue, recording N35.1 billion in the first six months of 2024. This marks a modest increase of 3.2% from N34 billion in H1 2023, indicating steady growth in its digital service offerings.

While two other tier-1 banks, Access Holdings, and United Bank for Africa, who are known to be heavy in terms of e-business, are yet to release their Q2 results, the earnings released by other banks so far show the growing embrace of digital banking channels as customers increasingly shift away from traditional banking methods.

However, according to the Chief Executive Officer of Clane, a mobile payment company, Mr. Dipo Alabede, the increasing adoption of digital platforms means that “the banks should also expect a rise in cyber threats, including phishing attacks, ransomware, and data breaches, thus investing in cybersecurity is imperative.”

In addition to that, he said the banks would also need to shore up their investments in IT infrastructure if they want to remain ahead of the curve in the highly competitive digital payment space.

“While the banks are already seeing growth in digital transactions and revenue, the financial industry is rapidly evolving with the advent of fintech companies and new technologies like blockchain and artificial intelligence. They have to increase their investment in IT infrastructure to adapt to these changes, integrate new technologies, and stay competitive,” he said.   

Also speaking with ThePressNG, the Chief Technology Officer at Onafriq, Mr Tayo Ogunlade, concurred that the increase in digital payments comes with an increase in cybersecurity threats for the banks.

For him, beyond investment in IT infrastructure and cybersecurity, Nigerian banks would need to collaborate to strengthen the digital payment system and minimize risks.

“Everyone is connected or interconnected at some point and your biggest risk is where you have the weakest link. So, collaboration is where you get to identify those things, where you get to see how different parties can mitigate those things. Collaboration is key as much as increasing investment,” he said.  

The growth of e-business revenue for the banks is a reflection of the general growth in the electronic payment industry, where fintechs are also playing prominent roles. According to the latest data released by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), electronic payment transactions in Nigeria rose to N234.4 trillion in the first quarter of 2024 as more Nigerians.

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