BANKS EARN ₦225BN FROM ATM AND E-BANKING CHARGES IN THREE MONTHS — ACCESS HOLDINGS LEADS AT ₦85.5BN

Q1 2026 data: e-banking revenue up 12.56%; account maintenance charges hit ₦209bn; Fidelity Bank posts 164.9% growth

Nigerian banks generated ₦224.69 billion from ATM transactions, card management fees, and electronic banking services in the first three months of 2026, sparking fresh concerns among customers who question why charges continue to rise even as banks post record revenues from digital services.

Access Holdings led the industry by a significant margin, earning ₦85.5 billion from digital transactions in Q1 2026. The group earned ₦39.7 billion more than its closest competitor UBA, which posted ₦45.8 billion. Zenith Bank recorded ₦39.6 billion while GTCO reported ₦29.4 billion. Of the ₦224.7 billion generated in electronic banking income by the banks reviewed, Access Holdings accounted for approximately 38 per cent.

Beyond e-banking fees, account maintenance fee income rose 14.07 per cent to ₦209.18 billion across the 11 lenders reviewed. Among them, Zenith Bank recorded the highest account maintenance income at ₦25.07 billion, followed by Access Holdings at ₦16.68 billion and GTCO at ₦15.12 billion.

The fastest growth in digital banking revenue came from Fidelity Bank, which registered a 164.9% increase, climbing from ₦3.08 billion in Q1 2025 to ₦8.81 billion in Q1 2026, reflecting aggressive digital adoption among its customer base.

Analysts said the strong performance of digital banking income coincided with signs of improving economic activity, noting that Nigeria's private sector expanded to a nine-month high in May 2026, with business conditions strengthening across key sectors.

For Nigerian SMEs with high-volume digital transaction needs, the data underscores the importance of monitoring banking fee structures. Businesses processing significant volumes of transfers, card payments, or POS transactions should review their fee agreements with their banks, and consider whether fee structures negotiated before the current tariff environment remain fit for purpose.