Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria shut a net 476 branches and cash centres between 2022 and 2025, cutting their physical presence across the country by 8.8 per cent as banking increasingly shifts from conventional outlets to digital and alternative payment platforms.
The contraction, which has gathered pace in the last two years, is reshaping the traditional banking model, with fewer branches required to deliver services that are increasingly being accessed through mobile applications, electronic channels and other digital platforms. The changing footprint also points to a gradual adjustment in the industry’s demand for branch-based operations and the workforce attached to them.
Figures contained in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s 2025 Statistical Bulletin for the Financial Sector showed that the number of bank branches and cash centres nationwide fell from 5,410 in 2022 to 4,934 in 2025.
The decline occurred despite an increase in the number of banks operating in the country during part of the period, suggesting that the expansion of banking services is no longer necessarily translating into a corresponding expansion of physical outlets.
An analysis of the CBN figures showed that the number of branches and cash centres fell by 37 in 2023, from 5,410 in 2022 to 5,373. The pace of contraction accelerated in 2024, when 229 locations disappeared, bringing the total to 5,144.
Banks closed another net 210 locations in 2025, reducing the nationwide total to 4,934.
Consequently, about 92 per cent of the 476-location net reduction recorded between 2022 and 2025 occurred in 2024 and 2025, indicating a marked acceleration in the industry’s move away from a branch-intensive model.
The CBN said the figures covered branches and cash centres operated by commercial, merchant and non-interest banks. The data were sourced from the apex bank and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation.
The reduction in physical outlets came even as the number of banks rose from 32 in 2022 to 33 in 2023 and 35 in 2024, before easing to 34 in 2025. The number of branches operated abroad remained unchanged at two throughout the period.
Lagos bears largest contraction
A state-by-state analysis showed that Lagos recorded the largest decline in absolute terms.
The country’s commercial hub had 1,602 bank branches and cash centres in 2022, but the number fell to 1,532 in 2023, 1,521 in 2024 and 1,444 in 2025.
This represented a net loss of 158 locations, or 9.9 per cent, over the three-year period. Lagos alone accounted for about one-third of the nationwide reduction.
Despite the contraction, the state remained by far the country’s largest concentration of physical banking infrastructure, accounting for about 29 per cent of all branches and cash centres nationwide in 2025.
The Federal Capital Territory recorded a similar decline. Abuja had 400 locations in both 2022 and 2023, before the number fell to 391 in 2024 and 362 in 2025. The 38-location reduction represented a contraction of 9.5 per cent.
Ekiti recorded one of the steepest declines, with its branch network falling from 107 locations in 2022 to 57 in 2025.
The 50-location reduction represented a 46.7 per cent contraction.
Enugu followed, losing 44 locations as its total declined from 162 to 118, while Oyo lost 41, falling from 237 to 196.
Other states with sizeable reductions included Ondo, where locations declined from 127 to 105; Plateau, from 80 to 61; Osun, from 113 to 96; Cross River, from 83 to 67; and Rivers, from 290 to 275.
Northern centres also record declines
The contraction was also evident in some of the major commercial centres in northern Nigeria.
Kano initially expanded its banking network, with physical locations rising from 164 in 2022 to 175 in 2023 and 183 in 2024. However, the number fell sharply to 157 in 2025, leaving the state with seven fewer locations than it had three years earlier.
Kaduna recorded a similar pattern, rising from 148 locations in 2022 to 156 in 2023 and 164 in 2024 before falling to 146 in 2025.
Some states, however, recorded growth in their physical banking networks.
Delta added 23 locations, increasing from 173 in 2022 to 196 in 2025. Edo also recorded an increase, from 155 to 165, while Jigawa rose from 31 to 37 and Kogi from 63 to 68.
Wide gap in physical banking access
The CBN data also revealed significant disparities in the distribution of physical banking infrastructure across the country.
While Lagos had 1,444 branches and cash centres in 2025, Yobe had 23, Taraba 26 and Zamfara 28. Bayelsa and Gombe had 31 each, while Ebonyi recorded 32.
The concentration in Lagos underscores the extent to which physical banking infrastructure remains tied to major commercial and economic centres, even as digital channels make it possible for banks to serve customers without maintaining a comparable number of outlets.
The latest figures therefore point to a banking industry in which growth in access and transactions is increasingly being decoupled from the expansion of conventional branches.
As banks continue to migrate routine transactions, customer service and payments to electronic platforms, the traditional branch is gradually becoming less central to the delivery of banking services. The shift is also likely to continue influencing how banks deploy personnel, with greater emphasis on technology-driven functions and fewer roles tied exclusively to physical branch operations.
The CBN has meanwhile called for greater adoption of alternative payment channels to expand access to financial services and stimulate economic activity.
Acting Director, Corporate Communications and Investor Relations Department of the CBN, Hakama Sidi-Ali, made the call at the 2026 CBN Fair in Lokoja, Kogi State.
Represented by Zubairu Salihu, Branch Controller of the CBN Lokoja Branch, Sidi-Ali said alternative payment channels were particularly important for farmers, traders, small businesses and informal-sector operators who might have limited access to conventional banking services.
The development reflects a broader transformation in Nigeria’s financial system, where physical branches are increasingly being complemented — and in some locations replaced — by digital platforms, electronic payments and other alternative channels.
-Punch.
