Growing International Migrants, Increasing Number of MTO’s and Mobile
Wallets were the Key Drivers for the Growth in Nigeria Remittance and Bill
Payments Market: Ken Research
Increasing job opportunities, rise in migration, growing number of internet and smart phone
users were the key factors driving growth in the remittance and bill payments market in
Nigeria.
Nigeria is one of the most vibrant economies of Africa. In 2015 it was the 6 th largest
country in the world in the list of remittance receiving countries. International
migration from Nigeria is very high because of which the market is dominated by
inflow of remittance funds. Nigerians mainly migrate to the developed countries
where they can find better job opportunities with high salaries and a better standard
of living. The major destination countries are US, UK and countries in Europe. The
inflow of funds is dominated by the US – Nigeria corridor. The country has a large
portion of population living in rural areas. People in search of better job
opportunities and higher education migrate, resulting in substantial rise of
households in cities. This has led to an overall increase in use of utilities such as
electricity and water. This increase has sustained the healthy growth of the bill
payment market. In the past few years the Nigerian currency has weakened against
USD, this has also resulted in the rise of transaction volume. High cost of remittance,
existence of a large number of unlicensed MTOs and a large percentage of unbanked
population are some of the major concerns for the remittance and bill payment
market. A transition towards preference of digital modes to remit money can be