Africa Markets

Eight Nigerian Banks Earn N522 Billion From E-Banking and Card Fees in Nine Months, Led by Access

Combined fees rose 8.1% year on year. GTCO grew fastest at 40.6%, while Wema's e-product fees fell 56.8%.

By Tumisang Bogwasi November 13, 2026 2 min read

Access Bank's head office in Lagos (file). Photo: Axl PGB / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

LAGOS – Eight banking groups listed on the Nigerian Exchange earned a combined N521.79 billion from electronic banking and card-related fees in the nine months to September 2026, up 8.1% from N482.48 billion a year earlier, according to an analysis by Nairametrics Research published on Friday, 13 November.

Highlights

Eight NGX-listed banking groups earned N521.79 billion from e-banking and card fees in 9M 2026.
That was up 8.1% from N482.48 billion a year earlier, Nairametrics Research found.
Access Holdings led with N172.92 billion, about a third of the total.
GTCO grew fastest at 40.6%, while Wema Bank’s electronic-product fees fell 56.8%.

The analysis covered Access Holdings, Zenith Bank, First HoldCo, Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), Wema Bank, Sterling Financial Holdings, Stanbic IBTC Holdings and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated. Five grew these fees and three reported declines, adding N39.32 billion in total.

Bank by bank

Access Holdings: N172.92 billion, up 14.3% from N151.35 billion, or 33.1% of the combined total and the largest increase in naira terms at N21.57 billion.
Ecobank: N115.93 billion in card management fees, down from N125.11 billion. Its figure covers its operations across several countries.
Zenith Bank: N77.17 billion, up 30.7% from N59.06 billion.
First HoldCo: N73.16 billion, up 6.3%.
GTCO: N60.81 billion, up 40.6% from N43.25 billion, the fastest growth in the group.
Wema Bank: N10.54 billion, down 56.8% from N24.42 billion, even as its total fee and commission income rose 28.4% to N55.14 billion.
Sterling Financial Holdings: N8.26 billion, up 17.2%.
Stanbic IBTC Holdings: N3.01 billion, a decline.

Excluding Ecobank, the other seven groups earned N405.86 billion, up 13.6% from N357.37 billion.

Why it matters

Fee income from cards, apps and other digital channels gives Nigerian banks earnings that do not depend on lending margins or the swings of the naira. The uneven results show that strong digital volumes do not translate into fee growth at every bank: pricing, competition from fintechs and how each bank classifies its fees all play a part. Banks are also raising fresh capital under the central bank’s recapitalisation programme, and steady fee lines can help support returns on that larger equity base.