NPS processes N1.4trn as Nigeria begins payments system upg...

Nigeria’s new National Payment Stack (NPS) has processed 26.55 million transactions valued at N1.4 trillion across 48 financial institutions, signalling the early commercial scale of the country’s transition to a new payments infrastructure designed to replace the 15-year-old NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) system.

The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) Plc disclosed this in Lagos on Monday, saying the National Payment Stack is being developed as a sovereign, ISO 20022-compliant digital infrastructure aimed at modernising Nigeria’s payments ecosystem and supporting a more integrated financial system.

First Bank of Nigeria currently leads participating institutions by transaction volume, while Fidelity Bank has the highest transaction value. Guaranty Trust Bank, Sterling Bank, Access Bank and Moniepoint are among other early adopters contributing to the expansion of the new payment network.

The scale of transactions recorded during the initial phase underscores the growing importance of payment infrastructure to Nigeria’s financial system, particularly as electronic transfers, digital commerce and real-time financial services continue to expand.

NIBSS said the new platform is designed to move Nigeria’s payments architecture beyond basic transaction processing by combining payments, identity and data on a single intelligent rail.

The infrastructure is also built with multi-currency capabilities and cross-border functionality, potentially positioning Nigeria’s payment system to support deeper regional financial integration and trade.

According to NIBSS, the platform’s adoption of the ISO 20022 data architecture will allow financial transactions to carry richer and more structured information, supporting automated corporate reconciliation, merchant collections and request-to-pay invoicing.

The NPS also consolidates single transfers and high-volume corporate disbursements on a unified payment rail, with support for direct debits, asynchronous processing and deferred settlement options.

The system incorporates automated sanctions screening, account validation, end-to-end encryption and real-time risk scoring, allowing participating institutions to identify potential fraud and compliance risks before transactions are executed.

For banks, the infrastructure is expected to improve treasury and liquidity management through real-time visibility of net positions and continuous settlement accounting.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NIBSS, Premier Oiwoh, described the National Payment Stack as an economic catalyst capable of transforming Nigeria’s financial infrastructure from transaction processing to what he called “payment intelligence”.

“The National Payment Stack represents an economic catalyst moving our financial infrastructure from basic transaction processing to comprehensive payment intelligence,” Oiwoh said.

He said the ISO 20022-compliant, multi-currency architecture would provide the foundation for greater interoperability, stronger security and more seamless regional trade.

However, NIBSS said the full benefits of the platform would depend on financial institutions completing their technical and operational integration.

Oiwoh urged participating institutions to activate the required messaging and fund-transfer credit and debit processing rails, stressing that full ecosystem readiness would be critical to ensuring a seamless experience for customers.

NIBSS said it would continue providing technical support, integration guidelines and assistance to financial institutions as they complete their migration and comply with Know Your Customer validation requirements.

The organisation said the integration process would also help prevent congestion on the platform and ensure that institutions adopt the required standards before the eventual decommissioning of the existing NIP infrastructure.

The transition is significant because the NIP system has been the backbone of Nigeria’s instant electronic transfer ecosystem for about 15 years, supporting the rapid growth of digital payments across banks, fintechs, businesses and consumers.

The new architecture is therefore expected to provide greater capacity and functionality as transaction volumes continue to rise, while creating a platform capable of supporting more sophisticated financial services.

The Central Bank of Nigeria is also backing the transition.

The Director of the Payments System Supervision Department at the CBN, Dr Rakiya Opemi Yusuf, urged financial institutions to accelerate their integration with the National Payment Stack during a recent working visit to NIBSS headquarters.

Her position reinforces the apex bank’s support for the adoption of ISO 20022 as a standard for Nigeria’s payments infrastructure.

For Nigeria’s financial sector, the transition represents more than a technology upgrade. A modern, interoperable payments rail can reduce transaction friction, strengthen fraud controls, improve liquidity management and support the expansion of digital commerce.

Its multi-currency and cross-border capabilities could also become increasingly important as Nigeria seeks to deepen regional trade and financial integration, particularly under the African Continental Free Trade Area.

The immediate challenge, however, is completing industry-wide integration without disrupting the payment services on which businesses and millions of consumers increasingly depend.

With N1.4 trillion already processed across 48 institutions, the early transaction figures suggest that the National Payment Stack is moving beyond a technology project into a major component of Nigeria’s financial infrastructure, with the success of the migration likely to shape the efficiency, security and competitiveness of the country’s digital economy.