Access Holdings Plc has emerged as the leading Nigerian tier-1 bank in electronic business income for the first half of 2025, recording ₦101.65 billion from digital transactions — the highest among its peers.
Collectively, the five tier-1 lenders — Access Holdings, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Zenith Bank, GTCO, and FBN Holdings — earned a total of ₦290.86 billion in e-business income during the period, marking a 2.2% decline from ₦297.53 billion recorded in the same period of 2024.
Access Holdings’ performance represents a 37.7% year-on-year growth compared with ₦73.81 billion posted in the first half of 2024. E-business income for the banks covers revenue from electronic channels, card products, and related services, including mobile apps, USSD, ATMs, agency banking, internet banking, and POS payments.
Despite generally strong financial performance in H1 2025, other tier-1 banks saw a dip in e-business earnings. UBA followed closely behind Access Holdings, with ₦100.50 billion, representing a 5.3% drop from ₦106.15 billion recorded in the previous year. Zenith Bank’s e-business income also fell 11.7% to ₦36.40 billion from ₦41.23 billion, while GTCO recorded a 12% decline to ₦28.61 billion, down from ₦32.50 billion in 2024. FBN Holdings saw the sharpest decline among the tier-1 lenders, with e-business revenue plunging 45.9% to ₦23.69 billion from ₦43.83 billion, likely reflecting weaker transaction volumes and customer migration to alternative digital platforms.
Among tier-2 banks, performance was mixed. Sterling Financial Holding Company posted a modest 2.7% increase in e-business income to ₦4.79 billion, up from ₦4.66 billion in H1 2024. Stanbic IBTC also saw a slight improvement, generating ₦2.25 billion compared to ₦2.15 billion in the same period last year. Wema Bank, however, reported a steep 59% drop in e-business income to ₦8.5 billion, down from ₦20.9 billion recorded in the first half of 2024.
The report also shows increased technology investments by the major lenders. Access Holdings led IT spending with ₦69.4 billion in H1 2025, though this was down from ₦111.2 billion spent during the same period last year. Zenith Bank more than doubled its IT expenditure, spending ₦49.88 billion compared with ₦23.09 billion last year. GTCO followed with ₦37.76 billion, slightly higher than ₦36.60 billion in H1 2024, while UBA maintained near-flat spending at ₦6.72 billion versus ₦6.70 billion in the prior period.
Industry analysts say the growth in e-business income reflects the rising adoption of digital and mobile banking in Nigeria. The CEO of Chronis Technology, Mr. Kayode Joseph, noted that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s cashless policy continues to drive electronic transactions across the country. According to him, the decline recorded by some banks indicates that customers are increasingly switching to fintech alternatives, as Nigerians now have multiple digital options for daily transactions.
He, however, emphasized that banks must strengthen their infrastructure to address failed transactions and enhance cybersecurity. “Two factors that are still discouraging some Nigerians from using banks’ electronic channels are the issue of failed transactions or network problems and electronic transaction fraud. If the banks invest more in technology to deliver seamless transactions and secure their networks, they will see more growth in their e-business revenue,” he said.
Data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) shows that electronic payment transactions in Nigeria rose to ₦284.9 trillion in the first quarter of 2025, a 22% increase from ₦234.4 trillion in Q1 2024, further underscoring the growing shift towards a cashless economy.
