Increased use of electronic payment products, including credit, debit and prepaid cards, has added $296bn (N58.9tn) to the Gross Domestic Product of Nigeria and 69 other countries, a new study conducted by Moody’s Analytics has shown.
The 70 countries in the study make up almost 95 per cent of global GDP.
The study also showed that increased use of e-payment raised household consumption of goods and services by an average of 0.18 per cent per year across the countries covered.
The study was commissioned by Visa Incorporated and it covered the period from 2011 to 2015.
In addition, Moody’s economists estimate that about 2.6 million new jobs were created on average per year over the five year period as a result of increased use of e-payments.
The study showed that increased e-payment usage added $640m (N127bn) to Nigeria’s GDP within the period.
African countries experienced on average, 0.05 per cent increase in their GDP due to increased card penetration.
Many African countries are in the early stages of developing their financial systems with appropriate infrastructure to support electronic payments.
In the coming years, the increase in the use of mobile phone technologies to make payments is expected to increase electronic payments penetration.
African countries had the second lowest average number of jobs added per year from increased card usage (8,000), apparently due to the region’s low usage rates and developing financial infrastructure to facilitate electronic payments.
Increased electronic payment usage created the equivalent to an average of 16,880 jobs in Nigeria per year between 2011 and 2015.
“Electronic payments are a major contributor to consumption, increased production, economic growth and employment creation,” the Chief Economist of Moody’s Analytics, Mr. Mark Zandi, said.
“Those countries which saw large increases in card usage also saw larger contributions to overall growth in their economies,” he added.
Findings from the study were shared in a report tagged: The impact of electronic payments on economic growth.
”These findings reinforce the many positive benefits that electronic payments bring tolocal economies all over the world,” the Chief Executive Officer, Visa Incorporated, Charlie Scharf, said.
“This research also suggests that the right public policies can create an open, competitive payment environment, and contribute to economic growth and job creation,” he added.
He further explained, “At Visa we are partnering globally with governments, financial institutions, merchants and technology companies to develop innovative payment products and services that will accelerate electronic acceptance, grow commerce, and bring the benefits of card payments to more people everywhere.”
-punchng