BLOG
backA lot can happen in a decade…
A decade ago, the downstream sector was in a different phase of its evolution. Petrol retailing was a growing business with steady demand and a sense of predictability. The supply chain was simpler, margins were wider, and operational planning felt more straightforward.
Many independent marketers were expanding, new stations were opening across major cities, and the downstream sector felt like an accessible path for entrepreneurs willing to invest. Most stations ran almost entirely on cash, and record-keeping was manual via ledger books, calculator tapes, and handwritten shift reports. Payment delays were expected; transfer confirmation could take hours, sometimes longer.
Fast forward to today, and the picture looks very different. The scale has changed, and the systems that hold the sector together have had to change, too.
For one thing, customers now pay for petrol with cards and transfers at the pump as easily as they buy groceries, with 90.9% of petrol stations operating POS terminals as standard payment infrastructure. Digital payments have become the norm, with over 43% of petrol station payments now collected via digital channels.
When Moniepoint’s terminals first appeared on forecourts across the country, we had just introduced same-day settlement into the downstream sector. Shortly after, we implemented POS transfers, supporting daily restocking and predictable planning.
We’re in the business of financial happiness, so we know that payments and petrol aren't so different, because every litre and every naira counts. The depth of our understanding lives inside the things we build, from settlement timing to working capital.
We can say that the pace of business is catching up to the pace of petrol movement. But if you won’t take our word for it, see for yourself at https://casestudies.moniepoint.com/oil-and-gas.
