{"id":8304,"date":"2026-08-18T13:25:38","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T12:25:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/?p=8304"},"modified":"2026-08-18T13:25:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T12:25:38","slug":"nigerians-shift-back-to-atms-as-pos-use-drops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/?p=8304","title":{"rendered":"Nigerians Shift Back to ATMs as PoS Use Drops"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Nigeria\u2019s cash-access landscape is showing signs of a surprising shift. After years of rapid growth for Point-of-Sale (PoS) agents,<\/a> Nigerians are increasingly returning to automated teller machines (ATMs), while PoS transaction volumes have recorded a significant decline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data for the first quarter of 2026 shows that ATM transactions reached 438.6 million, representing a 6.6% increase from the same period a year earlier. The value of those transactions rose even more sharply, climbing 64.6% year-on-year to \u20a626.3 trillion. At the same time, PoS transaction volumes dropped 19.9% to 2.92 billion, while their value declined 16.4% to \u20a659.3 trillion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The development is notable because PoS agents have become one of Nigeria\u2019s most important ways of accessing cash. Their rapid expansion was partly driven by the weaknesses of traditional banking infrastructure, including limited ATM availability, cash shortages and long queues. By bringing withdrawal and transfer services into neighbourhoods and markets, agents offered customers a faster and often more convenient alternative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, however, the balance appears to be changing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One factor could be the strengthening and expansion of ATM services. Banks have an opportunity to regain customers who moved to PoS operators when ATMs were unreliable or difficult to access. The increase in ATM transaction values suggests that customers are not only using the machines more frequently but may also be withdrawing larger amounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regulatory changes could also influence customer behaviour. Nigeria\u2019s revised cash-management framework has introduced withdrawal limits across banking channels, while the Central Bank of Nigeria has continued to adjust rules affecting both ATMs and PoS operators. These changes are reshaping the economics of cash withdrawals for consumers and agents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For PoS operators, the decline could create additional pressure. The sector has already faced increasing competition as more individuals and businesses acquire terminals. Market saturation has reduced transaction opportunities for some agents, while operating costs and regulatory requirements have added to the challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, the numbers do not mean Nigerians are abandoning PoS services altogether. PoS transaction values remain substantially higher than ATM transaction values, showing that agents continue to play a major role in the country\u2019s financial system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, the latest figures point to a more balanced payments ecosystem. Customers are increasingly choosing between ATMs and PoS terminals based on availability, convenience, transaction costs and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For banks, the ATM comeback is an opportunity to rebuild confidence in traditional cash infrastructure. For PoS operators, it is a warning that convenience alone may no longer be enough to guarantee dominance. Nigeria\u2019s cash economy is evolving again, and the next phase could be defined by whichever channel delivers the fastest, cheapest and most reliable access to money.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nigeria\u2019s cash-access landscape is showing signs of a surprising shift. After years of rapid growth for Point-of-Sale (PoS) agents, Nigerians are increasingly returning to automated teller machines (ATMs), while PoS transaction volumes have recorded a significant decline. Data for the first quarter of 2026 shows that ATM transactions reached 438.6 million, representing a 6.6% increase…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8304"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8304\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8306,"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8304\/revisions\/8306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}