The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) Plc is accelerating the transformation of Nigeria’s payments ecosystem with the rollout of the National Payment Stack (NPS), as the new sovereign payment infrastructure records 26.55 million transactions worth ₦1.4 trillion across 48 participating institutions.
Designed as the successor to the 15-year-old NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) infrastructure, the NPS is an ISO 20022-compliant, multi-currency digital rail that brings payments, identity and data onto a unified intelligent platform.
The early adoption figures underscore growing industry confidence in the new infrastructure, with First Bank of Nigeria recording the highest transaction volume and Fidelity Bank leading by transaction value. Guaranty Trust Bank, Sterling Bank, Access Bank and Moniepoint are also among the institutions contributing significantly to the network’s early growth.
Beyond replacing legacy infrastructure, the NPS is designed to reposition Nigeria’s payments architecture from conventional transaction processing towards a more intelligent, data-driven and interoperable financial ecosystem.
At the heart of the platform is its ISO 20022 data architecture, which supports structured and metadata-rich payment messages. This enables financial institutions and businesses to automate reconciliation, improve merchant collections and deploy request-to-pay invoicing with greater efficiency.
The platform also consolidates different payment functionalities onto a single rail, supporting individual transfers as well as high-volume corporate disbursements. Its capabilities include direct debits, asynchronous processing and deferred settlement options, providing greater flexibility for financial institutions and their customers.
Security and compliance have equally been embedded into the architecture. The NPS incorporates automated sanctions screening, account validation, end-to-end encryption and real-time risk scoring designed to identify potentially fraudulent transactions before execution.
For participating financial institutions, the platform also provides greater visibility into liquidity positions through real-time net position monitoring and continuous settlement accounting, enabling more precise treasury and liquidity management.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NIBSS, Premier Oiwoh, described the NPS as more than a replacement for an ageing payments platform, positioning it instead as a catalyst for the next phase of Nigeria’s financial infrastructure development.
“The National Payment Stack represents an economic catalyst moving our financial infrastructure from basic transaction processing to comprehensive payment intelligence,” Oiwoh said.
He added that the platform’s ISO 20022-compliant, multi-currency architecture would provide the foundation for greater interoperability, stronger security and more seamless regional trade.
However, NIBSS stressed that the success of the transition will depend on the readiness and full alignment of participating financial institutions.
Oiwoh urged all institutions to immediately activate the relevant messaging capabilities and fund-transfer credit and debit processing rails to ensure a seamless experience for end-users.
“To guarantee an optimal transaction experience for end-users, it is imperative that all participating financial services institutions immediately activate all related messages and fund transfer credit and debit processing rails,” he said.
According to him, NIBSS is providing continuous technical support, detailed implementation guidelines and integration assistance to help institutions meet KYC validation requirements and optimise their API consumption.
He explained that full adoption would also help prevent platform congestion, enforce appropriate usage standards and protect overall system performance as institutions complete their integration with Funds Transfer Debit and advanced messaging capabilities.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has also reinforced the urgency of the transition.
During a recent working visit to the NIBSS headquarters, Dr. (Mrs.) Rakiya Opemi Yusuf, Director of the Payments System Supervision Department of the CBN, urged financial institutions across the country to accelerate their integration with the NPS.
Her intervention reinforces the apex bank’s regulatory backing for the transition to ISO 20022 and signals the importance of industry-wide compliance as Nigeria prepares for the eventual decommissioning of the legacy NIP rail.
With adoption already expanding across banks and fintech institutions, NIBSS is positioning the National Payment Stack as the foundation for a more interoperable, secure and data-rich payments ecosystem, while moving the Nigerian financial system closer to a full industry cut-over from its legacy payment infrastructure.