Despite growing competition from fintech companies, eight major Nigerian banks—including Zenith, Access, and UBA—reported a combined electronic banking income of N165.27 billion in the first quarter of 2025.
In comparison to the N135.08 billion earned in Q1 2024, the banks—Access Holdings Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), Zenith Bank Plc, FBN Holdings Plc, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, FCMB Group Plc, Wema Bank Plc, and GTCO Plc—reported a 22.3% increase in e-banking revenue. Transactions across Point of Sale (PoS), Automated Teller Machine (ATM), Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), and Internet banking platforms were the main drivers of this growth.
Higher fees and commissions were a result of the growing clientele.As fintech businesses like MoMo Payment Service Bank (MoMo PSB), Airtel SmartCash, Opay, and Palmpay continue to charge nothing for cash deposits and fund transfers, they are posing a threat to established banking revenue streams, which is why income has increased. In Q1 2025, these banks saw a rise in transactions, which is anticipated to have an effect on their fees and commissions. Internet banking platforms, automated teller machines (ATMs), and unstructured supplemental service data (USSD).
Higher fees and commissions were a result of the growing clientele.Access Holdings, one of the banks, reported e-banking revenue of N48.35 billion, up 44.8% from N33.4 billion in the first quarter of 2024. UBA’s earnings for the quarter increased by almost 8% to N47.8 billion from N44.4 billion the year before. Additionally, GTCO saw growth, rising 51% from N11.3 billion to N17.06 billion. On the other hand, FCMB Group reported a 26% drop in e-banking revenue to N3.8 billion from N5.09 billion in Q1 2024, while Zenith Bank’s e-banking revenue fell 19% to N16.17 billion from N19.97 billion.
The revised guide to bank charges, which went into effect on April 1, 2013, calls for the gradual removal of COT charges in the Nigerian banking sector, according to the CBN circular. One of the main factors influencing the competitive landscape is the increasing pressure from fintechs providing simpler and less expensive digital financial services, which drives banks to innovate.