Nigerian Airports Begin Cashless Operations with Paystack
Air travel in Nigeria just took a decisive step into the digital age. The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), working with Paystack, has launched a cashless payment system at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. Starting September 29, passengers, visitors, and service users at these two airports will no longer pay cash at access gates, car parks, or VIP lounges.
The project, known as Operation Go Cashless, is not a trial balloon. It is a structured rollout designed to modernize how Nigeria’s busiest airports handle revenue, and FAAN is betting on it to improve both efficiency and transparency.
A new way to pay at the airport
Under the new model, anyone using airport services is expected to carry a FAAN Go Cashless Card. The card, powered by Paystack’s contactless technology, is collected at access gates, activated online, and topped up before use. Once funded, it becomes a tap-and-go solution across key revenue points.
To ease adoption, FAAN has stationed brand ambassadors around the terminals to guide travelers, answer questions, and help onboard those unfamiliar with digital tools. This is FAAN’s attempt to take the friction out of the transition and convince travelers that the new system is faster and more reliable than digging for cash at gates.
FAAN’s big revenue bet
Behind the technology push lies a clear financial motivation. FAAN says cash handling has left its revenue streams vulnerable to leakages for years. With digital payments, every transaction is recorded and traceable, making it harder for funds to slip through cracks.
The agency expects immediate results. Its projections suggest revenue could climb by 50 percent in the first months, hit 75 percent as adoption grows, and eventually triple within a year of nationwide deployment. If those numbers hold, the policy could be one of the most impactful revenue reforms in Nigeria’s aviation sector in decades.
The realities on the ground
The transition is bold, but it will face resistance. Nigeria remains a cash-heavy society, and not every traveler is digitally connected or willing to change long-standing habits. Visitors without internet access or bank-linked wallets may find themselves stranded at gates unless the onboarding process proves seamless.
There are also practical risks. Cashless systems rely on strong connectivity, functional terminals, and steady power supply. Any disruption could quickly lead to bottlenecks at already congested airports. And while digital payments reduce corruption, they create new challenges around fraud prevention and data security.
FAAN has been clear that Lagos and Abuja are only the starting points. By the first quarter of 2026, the agency plans to extend cashless operations to every FAAN-managed airport in the country. The rollout, if successful, will mark a new chapter in how Nigeria’s airports interface with travelers and manage their financial backbone.
The question now is whether the promise of speed, transparency, and efficiency will outweigh the early frustrations of adoption. For FAAN, this experiment is about more than payments. It is a test of whether Nigeria can execute a large-scale digital transition in one of its most critical public-facing systems.
