By Komolafe Babajide
Coordination weaknesses in Nigeria’s digital payments ecosystem were revealed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which revealed that payment system outages and service disruptions dramatically increased during the December holiday season, also referred to as “Detty December” in Lagos.
While Nigeria’s core payments infrastructure is generally robust, peak-season transaction volumes continue to put strain on systems, especially across POS channels, interbank transfers, and diaspora remittances, according to the CBN Fintech Report, which draws on insights from stakeholder workshops, regulatory roundtables, and surveys of fintech executives.
According to the survey, stakeholders’ opinions on the payments system’s resilience were evenly divided; half rated it as “very resilient,” while the other half described it as “generally resilient.”
Inter-institutional coordination, however, was found to be the most important area that needed to be improved during times of high traffic.
The December holiday season, also referred to as “Detty December,” was included in the report as an example of how well the system functioned under duress. Stakeholders observed a significant rise in digital payment volumes at this time, especially through POS channels, interbank transfers, and diasporic remittances.
Significant increases in downtime and service interruptions were recorded by a number of fintech companies, particularly on weekends and public holidays. Seasonal behavior and digital dependence are combined to create these pressures: year-end wage disbursements, travel-related remittances, and an increase in discretionary expenditure all increase demand on the payments infrastructure. When these elements come together, the agility of institutional coordination between banks, PSPs, and regulators is tested in addition to technical resilience.
