Access Bank, First Bank of Nigeria and the United Bank for Africa, led the list of twelve banks in Nigeria with highest electronic business income in the 9-month period of 2021.
According to the unaudited financials of the banks listed on the Nigerian Exchange, the twelve banks raked in a sum of N200.45 billion from their e-business unit between January and September 2021.
Banks revenue from electronic banking surged by 41.1 percent to N200.45 billion compared to N142.1 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2020.
Nigeria’s largest bank by customer base and total assets, Access Bank, generated a sum of N46.25 billion from e-business in the 9-month period ended September 2021, this is 60.6 percent higher than N28.8 billion recorded in the comparable period of 2020.
In the same vein, its profit after tax improved by 19.1 percent to N121.9 billion in contrast to N102.3 billion printed in 9-month 2020.
First Bank of Nigeria boosted its e-business income by 21.5 percent from N34.6 billion generated in 9-month 2020 to N42.02 billion in the period under review. Despite being one of the oldest banks in the country, First Bank has been at the forefront of the mobile banking revolution.
The bank was one of the pioneers of the USSD platform which is used to transfer money via a text messaging application of a mobile phone. Despite the growth in e-business income, FBN recorded a 24.8 percent decline in profit after tax, largely affected by a 12.6 percent decline in interest income compared to the previous year.
United Bank for Africa stood third position on the list with N41.91 billion e-business income, which represents a 50.4 percent increase compared to N27.87 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2020.
Similarly, its profit after tax grew by 35.6 percent to N104.6 billion with interest income at N343.7 billion in 9-month 2021, representing an increase of 8.4 percent.
Zenith Bank increased its electronic business income by 29.9 percent from N18.46 billion recorded in 2020 to N23.99 billion in the period under review.
On the other hand, its interest income dipped marginally by 3.1 percent to N308.88 billion compared to N318.82 billion recorded in the previous year.
The newly restructured bank, GTCo generated a sum of N16.67 billion as e-business income between January and September 2021, representing a 91.1 percent increase compared to N8.21 billion recorded in the previous year.
GTCo recorded the highest surge in e-business income, and was able to fill some gap as the interest income compared to the previous year, declined by 12.5 percent to N195.04 billion in 9M 2021.
Nigeria has been experiencing a massive boost in electronic-driven banking as increasing mobile phones adoption and viral social media activities lead to massive consumption of data and spending across several channels.
The banking sector is also benefiting massively from the wave of mobile phone adoption, providing easy to use banking apps that are secure and operate seemingly like social media apps.
