Over the past few years, we have seen almost every commercial bank in Nigeria integrate internet banking into its system of operation, while also promoting its popular adoption by their customers.
Now, what this has resulted in for a lot of banks is an increased activity on their digital channels, as their customer base have gotten better used to accessing financial activities via the internet.
In a similar vein, some of these banks have reported an increase in users as internet banking allows for self-service, which makes the onboarding of new customers much easier and faster. We can agree this is a great development, not just for the banks, but also for their customer base.
Heralding this pack of new age banking systems in Nigeria is UBA (United Bank for Africa), which has accounted for more visits to a Nigerian bank’s website than any other financial institution in the country, not excluding fintech apps that are even predominantly online-based.
This is backed by recent data released by Semrush, calculated using a system of average monthly visitors (over a period of time) to the websites of commercial banks and other financial service providers available in Nigeria.
This data ranks the UBA Group website number one, having amassed 2.36 million visits in June 2024.
To put UBA’s impressive numbers into perspective, the bank’s website received 1.11 million visits more than the 3rd ranked bank, meaning they had almost double the digital activities of GTCO.
Following closely behind UBA at number two is the Stripe owned payment merchant, Paystack with 2.23 million visits reported for the month of June. GTCO (formerly GTBank came in third with 1.25 million visits.
The user-friendliness and extensive online services offered by UBA on their website has resonated highly with its users, making them a go-to for Nigerian customers.
A significant number of bank account owners in Nigeria have steadily embraced the transition from the conventional over the desk banking techniques, to digital self-service with the aid of the internet and mobile devices.
According to a survey carried out by BusinessDay, the first quarter of 2024 has experienced a 159.22% increase in Information Technology (IT) investments by banks in Nigeria.
A total of 73.09 billion Naira was spent by seven banks to develop and maintain their IT infrastructure.
The yields of these investments can clearly be seen in the resulting engagement on the banks’ digital channels.
10 Most visited Banking websites & Financial Institutions in Nigeria
Below are the 10 most visited bank and other financial institutions websites in Nigeria (as at June 2024):
Ubagroup.com – 2.36M
United Bank for Africa Plc is a Nigerian bank that offers financial services to over 25 million people across 4 continents. With more than 1,000 branches and customer centers with the most of it situated in 20 African countries, UBA is one of the leading Pan-African financial institutions of the 21st century.
The reason the UBA Group has this many visits (and the most out of other Nigerian banks) can not be ostracized from the fact it has one of the most user-friendly apps and websites that allow customers to access their immediate banking needs with little to no assistance.
UBA connects people and businesses in Africa to those in the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, and France through innovative cross-border payments; commercial and corporate banking.
Paystack.com – 2.23M
Paystack following behind UBA closely with just 130k less visits might seem very impressive, considering it is not even a bank but a payment gateway, however, it is not surprising. Paystack caters to more than 200,000 businesses; small, medium, and corporation-sized, ranging from startups like fintechs, betting companies, to entrepreneurs like online store owners, global brands, etc.
With Paystack, businesses in Africa can accept payments from anyone, anywhere in the world. Looking at the categories of businesses and organizations who integrate Paystack as their payment channels, it is definitely no surprise it ranks second on this list.
Gtbank.com – 1.25M
One of the first banks to be touted as a next generation bank, long before internet banking became as popular as it is today. Being among the top 3 highest visited bank websites in Nigeria should come as no surprise. GTBank (Guaranty Trust Bank, or until recently mostly known as Guaranty Trust Holding Company Limited) invests a lot in making its digital banking channels very accessible and user-friendly to customers.
The result of this can be seen in its first quarter earnings for the year 2024. GTBank posted pre-tax profits of N509.3 billion in Q1 alone, six times more than the profit generated in Q1 of 2023. For more context, GTBank’s total profit post-tax for the whole of 2023 was N539.6 billion.
Zenithbank.com -1.17M
The ease of navigation and access to quick self-service on the Zenith Bank website can be considered to be one of the chief reasons why the bank is getting this many visits. And why not? Over the past few years, the Zenith brand has splurged so much in IT infrastructure that it has become synonymous with state of the art banking technologies.
The bank posted record profits recently thanks to its increased internet presence, and still intends to drive it even higher with the introduction of its revolutionary fintech subsidiary called Zenpay.
Accessbankplc.com -1.15M
Access bank follows Zenith bank closely with 1.15 million visits for the month of June as recorded by SemRush. This bank is one of the top providers of financial services in Nigeria, committing itself to making innovative and customer-centric financial solutions available to the populace with the aid of a fully functional website.
A focus on digital transformation, community engagement, and responsive customer support tends to be the difference between Access bank and most other banks in Nigeria.
Wise.com – 950.25K
Wise.com is an international payment platform that lets Nigerians and other users send and receive money from anywhere in the world.
Firstbanknigeria.com – 855.36K
Celebrating 130 years of operation this year, First Bank is Nigeria’s oldest active bank and it has duly earned a spot to be one of the most visited bank websites in Nigeria.
Xe.com – 817.15K
The XE.com website allows people living in Nigeria to receive money in 100 currencies from over 200 countries with no hassle.
Providusbank.com -713.76K
Providus bank is a commercial bank in Nigeria that places high importance on IT infrastructure and how to develop it to meet the needs of their customers.
Mastercard.com – 400.1K
Thousands of people visit MasterCard.com to use their payments facilitation services, usually for holders of their physical or virtual payments cards.
