Fintech report says surge in “Detty December” transactions strained POS, transfers and remittance channels…..
The Central Bank of Nigeria has revealed that payment system downtime and service interruptions rose sharply during the December festive period, popularly known in Lagos as “Detty December,” highlighting coordination challenges across the country’s digital payments ecosystem.
According to the CBN Fintech Report, which draws on surveys of fintech executives, stakeholder workshops and regulatory roundtables, Nigeria’s core payments infrastructure remains broadly resilient. However, peak-season transaction volumes continue to put pressure on systems, particularly across POS channels, interbank transfers and diaspora remittances.
The report showed that stakeholders were evenly divided in their assessment of system resilience, with half describing the payments infrastructure as “very resilient” and the other half rating it as “generally resilient.”
Despite this, inter-institutional coordination was identified as the most critical area requiring improvement during periods of high transaction volume.
“The December holiday season, commonly known as ‘Detty December’, was referenced as a case study of the system’s performance under pressure. Stakeholders noted that digital payment volumes increase sharply during this period, particularly across POS channels, interbank transfers and remittances from the diaspora,” the report stated.
It added that several fintech firms recorded a significant rise in downtime and service interruptions, especially on weekends and public holidays, when transaction demand peaks.
The report explained that the pressure on payment systems reflects a combination of seasonal behaviour and growing dependence on digital transactions. Increased discretionary spending, travel-related remittances and year-end salary payments all contribute to a surge in activity across the payments infrastructure.
According to the CBN, this convergence not only tests the technical strength of the financial system but also exposes the need for stronger coordination among regulators, banks and payment service providers to ensure smoother operations during peak periods.
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