What is the most popular online payment method in Nigeria?
Bank transfer. Shoppers pay to a one-time account number generated at checkout and the NIP rail confirms it in seconds. Paystack reported that 58% of its Nigerian transactions in 2023 were bank transfers, against 36% for cards.
In detail
Bank transfer. At checkout, the gateway shows a one-time virtual account number, the shopper pushes a transfer from a bank or fintech app, and the payment is confirmed automatically. Paystack reported that 58% of its Nigerian transactions in 2023 were bank transfers, against 36% for cards.
Why transfers lead
The NIBSS Instant Payment system (NIP) settles most payments in seconds and is the rail behind app transfers, USSD, POS settlements and online checkouts. Nearly 11 billion NIP transactions were processed in 2024, more than double the 2022 level. For Nigerian shoppers, instant payment is the norm, not a premium option.
The rest of the checkout
- Cards on Verve, AfriGO, Visa and Mastercard, still the default for subscriptions and foreign merchants.
- USSD codes for feature-phone users.
- Fintech account apps such as OPay, PalmPay and Moniepoint, which plug into NIP.
- Cash on delivery, often paid by transfer or POS at the door.
What it means for payment operators
A Nigerian checkout without pay with transfer loses a large share of shoppers. Operators serving Nigerian merchants need a local provider that issues virtual accounts and confirms transfers automatically, next to domestic and international cards, with reconciliation that matches each transfer to its order.