Five of Nigeria’s leading banks collectively spent N126.8 billion on information technology (IT) in the first half of 2025, in a major push to upgrade digital infrastructure and strengthen cybersecurity. The investments highlight the growing importance of digital banking as lenders compete for market share in payments and electronic transactions.
The banks—Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), Stanbic IBTC, United Bank for Africa (UBA), and Wema Bank—significantly ramped up spending compared with the previous year, with some doubling their outlays.
Zenith Bank led the pack, allocating N49.88 billion, more than twice its N23.09 billion spend in H1 2024. GTCO followed closely with N37.76 billion, slightly above the N36.60 billion recorded last year, while Stanbic IBTC increased its IT investments to N23.74 billion from N15.86 billion. UBA maintained near-flat spending at N6.72 billion, while Wema Bank posted the sharpest jump, committing N8.65 billion compared with just N1.13 billion a year ago, largely to support its ALAT digital platform.
Access Holdings, which topped the 2024 IT spend league with N93.1 billion, is yet to release its half-year results for 2025. Other financial groups such as First HoldCo and Sterling Holdings released H1 reports without disclosing their technology expenses.
The surge in IT spending is driven by the rapid expansion of cashless transactions, partly accelerated by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) naira redesign policy and cash withdrawal limits introduced in late 2022. Nigerian banks spent N518.5 billion on IT in 2024, more than double the N248 billion spent in 2023.
Analysts say the new investments are targeted at improving operational efficiency, customer experience, and digital security. However, concerns remain over the adequacy of cybersecurity defenses. According to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), banks lost N52.26 billion to fraud in 2024, a 195% increase over the previous year.
Industry experts warn that while banks are moving in the right direction, cybercriminals are evolving even faster. “The evolution of cloud and AI is moving very quickly. This means that bad actors can do things at a rate that is quite high. So, banks need to keep investing,” said Nonso Magulike, Executive Director of Bitscape.
Similarly, Dipo Alabede, CEO of mobile payments firm Clane, stressed that digital infrastructure is key to competitiveness in the payment space but cautioned that current levels of investment may still be inadequate given the rising threat of phishing, ransomware, and data breaches.
