Have you ever been to Africa? If your answer is a yes, you will find the question absurd but answer positively. If your answer is no, you will react naturally to this question. The reason is simple. Africa covers such a vast territory and does the honours for numerous different cultures; therefore, ‘being to Africa’ doesn’t mean that you have the experience of it as a whole. Instead, you have experience in only the country you have been to, and ‘being familiar with Africa’ would be nothing but an exaggeration. Therefore, it would be wise to start with having some insight into the country before understanding different payment methods and practices in Nigeria.
As a significant player in the African continent, Nigeria is an extreme example of multiculturalism with its more than 250 ethnic groups speaking more than 500 different local languages and numerous unique cultures. Additionally, as a former British colony, English is the country’s common and official language. As a result, Nigeria developed business transactions at the continental and international levels.
Since its economy mainly depends on agriculture, mining, fossil fuels, manufacturing, technology, and tourism & service sectors, it is not shocking that Nigeria is the largest economy within the continent and places itself the 25th on the global scale with its nominal GDP.
Known as the giant of Africa, with its approximately 214 million population, Nigeria takes the lead in establishing solid continental relations as well as acting as the catalyzer for international relations. Who wouldn’t be interested in visiting such a country as a tourist or establishing business interactions with Nigerian partners? At that point, preferred payment options in Nigeria come to the table since money makes the World turn!
Choosing Payment Methods in Nigeria
We human beings shape the track of any phenomenon, and payment methods do not constitute an exception to this rule. Therefore, the best way to start talking about the payment options in Nigeria is by relying on demographic statistics. This way, we may have a clearer vision of the Nigerian inhabitants, and so we will understand payment methods in Nigeria with a solid basis in our minds.
- As mentioned, Nigeria has a remarkable population of 214 million with a median age of 18.2! The percentage of the population older than 44 constitutes only 13.6% of the whole. That means Nigeria is an extremely young and dynamic country that may be open to changes much more quickly than most of the world, which undoubtedly will affect the most popular payment methods in Nigeria directly.
- In January 2022, the number of Nigerian internet users reached 109.2 million, representing 51% of the country. Although the percentage looks like half of the population, by considering the number of people and expected future internet users, Nigeria can be regarded as a profitable and promising company for cryptocurrency usage.
- Another attention-grabbing data indicates that in January 2022, the percentage of mobile connections equals 82.4% of the whole population, indicating why Nigerians prefer mobile payment methods in Nigeria.
What are the Different Types of Payment Methods in Nigeria?
As it can be seen, a country with an ever-growing economy and a highly young population is eager to seize the day by following the new payment methods. As an inevitable result, the traditional payment methods are expected to lose ground in the upcoming years by leaving their status to new methods as preferred payment options in Nigeria.
- Credit Cards in Nigeria
Nigeria, the giant of Africa, is still in the transition period when it comes to credit cards. Credit card penetration in Nigeria is 124th among 137 countries, according to a research held in 2021. Only 3% of the population in Nigeria own a credit card, which is extremely low compared to Nigeria’s economic capacity.
Visa and Mastercards are accepted at a medium level at both merchant and ATM acceptance, whereas American Express remains low. However, the attempts to accelerate credit card penetration continues non-stop. Therefore, it would be wise to carry cash if you plan to travel to Nigeria for business or leisure. Another option is to use your debit card to withdraw money from ATMs to pay for your expenses.
- Digital Wallets in Nigeria
According to research held in 2020, the percentage of digital wallets usage was 10% of the whole digital payments in Nigeria. The leading names appear to be KongaPay and PayPal; however, numerous others are also involved in the market. The general tendency for online purchases so far focused on using credit cards, cash, and bank transfers, followed by digital wallet payments.
According to another research in the field in 2021, the percentage of Nigerians who preferred using digital wallets and mobile wallets while online shopping covered 7% of the population, whereas the rate increased to 13% while they had a point of sale purchase. Let’s consider the young and dynamic population of Nigeria, who do not have the habit of using credit cards. We can expect a faster transition to digital wallets in Nigeria compared to countries where credit cards have already taken the cash position.
- Cryptocurrencies in Nigeria
If you have ever tried to talk about cryptocurrencies with one of your elder family members, you know the story; it mostly sounds Chinese to them. On the contrary, young people behave eager to understand what it is and use it for their own good. In that sense, any country with a younger population adapts to cryptocurrencies more than others, and of course, Nigeria doesn’t constitute an exception to the rule.
As in many countries, the Central Bank of Nigeria also brought some restrictions to crypto currencies-related transactions in 2021; it did not stop the Nigerians from seizing the day! According to a report by crypto platforms in 2022, 33.4 million Nigerians already own or trade their crypto assets. The users’ ages vary from 18 to 60, and 70% clearly verbalise their intentions to increase their crypto assets.
However, it should be noted that the restriction of the Nigerian Central Bank does not mean the cryptocurrencies are accepted as illegal in Nigeria; they are assets that are not officially recognized and remain unregulated. Since there is a grey area in the crypto sector, certain apps have been developed to overcome this obstacle and use cryptocurrencies for businesses in Nigeria as a payment method.
Data from Google Trend also approves this fact since Nigeria has the highest number of researches about Bitcoin. There are numerous cryptocurrency exchange platforms presently within reach in Nigeria, including CoinSmart, Capital, Local Bitcoins, Coinbase, Kraken, Binance, Remitano, and Luno.
Jeton Wallet in Nigeria!
Salute to Nigeria! The pearl of West Africa!
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Starting from facilitated online money transfers overseas to an excessive number of fiat currencies, you will find the path to an elevated online experience in Jeton. Our e-wallet serves over 50 fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Dogecoin, Tether). We have not forgotten Nigerian Naira either. It is smooth and reasonable to exchange fiat currencies while our money transfers are totally free among two Jeton Wallet users.
To learn more about our user-oriented payment services and become a member of the Jeton community, you can visit jeton.com. Our proficient customer support will brief you regarding our wallet to the fullest. Join us today to transcend your online payment understanding!
