₦209 billion for 3 months — how your bank charge become Nigeria most profitable product
Bank for Nigeria collect ₦209 billion from account maintenance charge alone for Q1 2026 — 14% increase from last year same time. Na ₦2.3 billion every day, just because say you get current account. Zenith Bank alone collect ₦25 billion. GTCO maintenance income grow 42% year-on-year. E no be interest income from loan. Na the fee wey your bank dey charge you just because say you be their customer.
The irony be say digital bank no dey charge anything. Kuda, OPay, PalmPay, and Moniepoint — all of dem na zero maintenance fee, zero transfer fee, and zero SMS fee. Kuda give 25 free transfer every day. OPay agent network mean say you fit deposit and withdraw cash for 500,000+ POS terminal without you go bank branch. But still, 80% of Nigerian salary account still dey sit for traditional bank — because employer dey default to FUGAZ for payroll, and most worker no bother to switch.
The calculation clear. Average Lagos professional wey dey make 20 transfer/month, use another bank ATM 4 times/month, and receive 30 SMS alert/month dey pay around ₦18,000–₦25,000 every year for bank charge at traditional bank. Same usage at Kuda or OPay cost ₦0–₦2,400. The difference fit buy 3–4 bag of rice at today price, cover 2 months of MTN 10GB data, or pay 1 month DSTV Compact. Bank charge no be small money. Na line item for your cost of living.