Banks Shut 476 Branches as Nigeria’s Banking Landscape Goes Digital

Nigeria’s banks are rapidly abandoning the traditional banking model, shutting down hundreds of branches and cash centres as customers increasingly move to digital and electronic channels.

Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria show that banks closed a net 476 branches and cash centres between 2022 and 2025, cutting the country’s physical banking network by 8.8 per cent in just three years.

The number of bank branches and cash centres plunged from 5,410 in 2022 to 4,934 in 2025, signalling a dramatic shift away from brick-and-mortar banking.

The contraction has gathered pace in recent years.

Banks closed 37 locations in 2023, followed by a much steeper reduction of 229 locations in 2024. Another 210 branches and cash centres disappeared in 2025.

In effect, more than nine out of every 10 locations lost during the three-year period were closed in 2024 and 2025.

The figures, contained in the CBN’s 2025 Statistical Bulletin for the Financial Sector, cover branches and cash centres operated by commercial, merchant and non-interest banks. The data were sourced from the CBN and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Lagos bears the biggest hit Lagos, Nigeria’s financial powerhouse, recorded the largest decline.

The state had 1,602 bank branches and cash centres in 2022. That figure dropped to 1,532 in 2023, 1,521 in 2024 and just 1,444 in 2025.

That represents a loss of 158 locations, or nearly 10 per cent, in three years.

Despite the closures, Lagos remains overwhelmingly dominant, accounting for almost 29 per cent of all physical banking locations in Nigeria.

The Federal Capital Territory also suffered a significant contraction. Abuja went from 400 locations in 2022 to 362 in 2025, a decline of 38, or 9.5 per cent.

But some states experienced far more dramatic cuts.

Ekiti lost almost half of its banking locations, falling from 107 in 2022 to just 57 in 2025 — a staggering 46.7 per cent decline.

Enugu lost 44 locations, dropping from 162 to 118, while Oyo shed 41, falling from 237 to 196.

Other notable declines were recorded in Ondo, Plateau, Osun, Cross River and Rivers.

Northern banking centres also feel the squeeze

The contraction was not confined to the South.

Kano, for instance, initially expanded its banking footprint, rising from 164 locations in 2022 to 183 in 2024. But the reversal was sharp in 2025, when the figure crashed to 157.

Kaduna followed a similar pattern. Its locations climbed from 148 in 2022 to 164 in 2024 before falling back to 146 in 2025.

Yet not every state is losing branches.

Delta recorded the strongest expansion among the states highlighted, adding 23 locations and rising from 173 in 2022 to 196 in 2025.

Edo added 10, while Jigawa and Kogi gained six and five locations respectively.

A widening banking divide

The figures expose a striking disparity in access to physical banking infrastructure across Nigeria.

While Lagos had 1,444 branches and cash centres in 2025, Yobe had only 23, Taraba 26 and Zamfara 28.

Bayelsa and Gombe had 31 each, while Ebonyi had 32.

The imbalance underscores how heavily physical banking infrastructure remains concentrated in Nigeria’s major commercial and economic centres.

The bank branch may be losing its battle

The shrinking branch network comes despite the number of banks operating in Nigeria initially increasing.

The country had 32 banks in 2022, 33 in 2023 and 35 in 2024, before the figure slipped slightly to 34 in 2025.

That means the branch closures cannot simply be explained by a shrinking number of banks.

Instead, the figures point to a much bigger transformation: Nigerian banking is moving away from physical locations and towards digital platforms.

The CBN has itself been pushing greater adoption of alternative payment channels, particularly among farmers, traders, small businesses and informal-sector operators who may have limited access to conventional banking services.

Speaking at the 2026 CBN Fair in Lokoja, the Acting Director of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations, Hakama Sidi-Ali, stressed the importance of alternative payment channels in expanding financial access and stimulating economic activity.

The message from the numbers is even clearer.

The era of banking halls on every major street may be fading.

With hundreds of branches disappearing in just three years — and the pace of closures accelerating — Nigeria’s banking industry is betting increasingly on phones, apps, electronic payments and other digital channels rather than physical walls and counters.

For millions of Nigerians, the next bank branch may no longer be a building. It may be sitting in their hands.