Zenith, Access leads deposit growth amid rising Fintech disruption

Nigerian banks strengthened their grip on retail savings in 2025, recording a combined retail deposit base of N39.01 trillion despite the rapid expansion of fintech firms that now dominate much of the country’s digital payments ecosystem.

An analysis of audited financial statements and investor presentations from six leading banking groups—Access Holdings, United Bank for Africa, Guaranty Trust Holding Company, Zenith Bank, Stanbic IBTC Holdings and Wema Bank—shows retail deposits rose from N31.46 trillion in 2024 to N39.01 trillion in 2025.

Among the banks surveyed, Zenith Bank maintained the largest retail deposit base, growing deposits from N10.56 trillion in 2024 to N11.56 trillion in 2025, an increase of 9.4 percent.

Access Holdings followed closely, recording the most aggressive expansion. Its retail deposits surged by 77.1 percent from N5.57 trillion to N9.87 trillion, making it the fastest-growing institution among the banks reviewed.

UBA also posted strong performance, with retail deposits rising by 15.1 percent from N8.49 trillion to N9.77 trillion.

GTCO increased its retail deposit portfolio to N5.92 trillion from N5.23 trillion, while Stanbic IBTC Holdings grew deposits to N974 billion from N814 billion. Wema Bank also recorded healthy growth, with retail deposits climbing to N922.4 billion from N786.75 billion.

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UBA’s retail deposits grew from N2.41 trillion in 2020 to N9.77 trillion in 2025, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32.3 percent. GTCO posted a CAGR of 26.3 percent over the same period, while Wema Bank achieved 31 percent growth.

Leading fintech platform OPay reported serving more than 45 million users and one million merchants by the end of 2025. Its annual gross transaction value surged from $166.2 billion in 2024 to $358 billion in 2025, while monthly active users increased to over 39 million.

Similarly, PalmPay says it serves more than 40 million users and one million merchants, processing over 15 million transactions daily.

Moniepoint has also emerged as a dominant force, supporting more than 10 million individual and business accounts and processing approximately $17 billion in monthly payment value.

Digital bank Kuda reported processing N14.3 trillion in transactions during the first quarter of 2025 alone, while Paga and FairMoney continue to expand their footprints across payments, lending and merchant banking services.

Despite these gains, fintech growth has yet to significantly erode the retail deposit bases of traditional banks.

According to Festa Chiwendu Ndubuogaranya, customers still view commercial banks as the safest institutions for preserving wealth.

“Salary earners, corporates and government institutions still regard commercial banks as the primary custodians of long-term savings. During periods of uncertainty, funds naturally migrate to institutions with established liquidity credibility,” she said.

Ndubuogaranya noted that banks retain structural advantages that fintech firms have not fully replicated, including domiciliary accounts, international banking services, trade finance products and extensive corporate banking relationships.

She explained that institutions such as UBA, with operations across 20 African countries and offices in major global financial centres, enjoy cross-border banking capabilities beyond the reach of most fintech firms.

Research and Insights Analyst at Norrenberger, Uyomi Eya, believes the current relationship between fintechs and banks remains more complementary than competitive.

“Banks continue to benefit from strong current and savings account franchises, diversified product offerings and deeper integration within the financial system,” she said.