Internet Banking Pushes Active Lines To 226 Million, As Subscription Rate Hits156 Million

Nigeria’s cashless policy has pushed both mobile line and internet subscription to 226 million and 156 million respectively as bank users scramble for online services.

The total number of active lines rose to 226,226,754 in January 2023 from 222,571,568 recorded at the end of 2022.

The number of internet subscribers rose from 154,847,901 in December 2022 to 156,244,368 in January 2023.

Also, teledensity which is calculated based on a population estimate of 190 million rose from 116.6 per cent in December to 118.51 per cent in January 2023.

But broadband penetration which measures the coverage of high-speed Internet access is still below the reach of half of Nigeria’s population.

According to the Nigerian communications Commission (NCC), penetration is 48.2 per cent or 92 million subscriptions by January, rising from the 47.3 per cent penetration or 90.3 million subscriptions as of December 2022.

Nigeria targets achieving 70 per cent broadband penetration by 2025.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has ramped up efforts to push for a cashless policy which led to the redesign of N1,000, N500 and N200 bills.

The bank has withdrawn N2.1trn from circulation and has placed 5 million and N500,000 withdrawal limits for corporate bodies and individuals accounts respectively.

The country has suffered cash crunch since the start of 2023 forcing bank customers to resort to internet banking and the use of USSD services for banking transactions.

According to the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System, the CBN policy led to a surge in total cashless transactions by 45.41 per cent y-o-y to N39.58tn in January 2023.