Nigeria’s payments revenues are projected to surge from $1.3 billion in 2024 to $4.7 billion in 2029, according to Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) newly released 23rd Global Payments Report.
The growth, driven largely by transaction-related revenues, positions Nigeria as a key engine in Africa’s fast-expanding payments sector.
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The report titled “The Future Is (Anything but) Stable” projects that Africa’s overall payments revenues will nearly double within the same period, rising from $9 billion in 2024 to $19 billion by 2029.
“With a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 10 percent, the continent is expanding almost three times faster than the global payments sector, which is expected to moderate to 4 percent growth over the next five years,” it said.
BCG’s analysis shows that transaction revenues in Nigeria are set to grow at a CAGR of 23 percent, while non-transaction revenues such as account services and ancillary fees will expand even faster, at 26 percent.
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This trajectory, the report said, reflects the country’s rapid digital adoption, powered by fintech-led innovations in mobile onboarding, QR code payments, and point-of-sale expansion.
“Nigeria is driving innovation and digital adoption at scale,” said Tolu Oyekan, Managing Director and Partner at BCG Lagos.
“With the Central Bank’s Vision 2025 and fintech-led advances like mobile onboarding and QR adoption, Nigeria’s payments revenues are set to grow rapidly, fuelled by the shift from cash to cards and real-time transfers. This progress is not only boosting financial inclusion and opportunity within Nigeria but also underscores the continent’s emergence as a global payments innovation leader.”
Globally, BCG forecasts payments revenues to reach $2.4 trillion by 2029, up from $1.9 trillion in 2024.
The report identifies five structural forces reshaping the industry: the rise of agentic AI, digital currencies such as stablecoins, fintech disruption, real-time account-to-account (A2A) systems, and cost transformation.
While traditional growth drivers, such as deposit margins, are losing momentum, new forces are emerging. Agentic AI is projected to influence more than $1 trillion in e-commerce spending, while stablecoins processed $26 trillion in transactions in 2024, albeit with just 1 percent linked to real-world payments.
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Meanwhile, the report disclosed that real-time A2A systems now account for around a quarter of digital retail payments worldwide and are expected to exceed 50 percent in regions like Africa by 2030. Nigeria’s NIBSS instant payment system is central to this transition.
“Payments-focused fintechs are also reshaping the market, generating $176 billion in revenue globally in 2024 and growing at 23 percent annually. They now account for 45 percent of total fintech revenues, attracting over $135 billion in equity funding over the past 25 years,” the global payment report noted.
Inderpreet Batra, BCG’s global head of payments and fintech, said this is a turning point for the industry.
“Traditional growth levers are losing force, but new drivers, including agentic systems, programmable money, and fintech innovation, are rapidly coming into focus. The players that align with these shifts now will lead the next decade.”
