The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) has commenced the rollout of its National Payment Stack (NPS), processing 26.55 million transactions valued at N1.4 trillion across 48 participating financial institutions.
The new platform is a sovereign, ISO 20022-compliant payment infrastructure designed to replace the 15-year-old NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) system and modernise Nigeria’s digital payments ecosystem.
NIBSS said the NPS combines payments, identity and data on a single platform, while its multi-currency architecture is designed to improve transaction processing, interoperability and cross-border payments.
First Bank of Nigeria recorded the highest transaction volume among early participants, while Fidelity Bank led in transaction value. Other major adopters include GTBank, Sterling Bank, Access Bank and Moniepoint.
NIBSS Managing Director, Premier Oiwoh, described the NPS as a major step towards transforming Nigeria’s payment infrastructure from basic transaction processing to advanced payment intelligence.
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He urged participating financial institutions to accelerate integration and activate the required payment and messaging rails to ensure seamless transactions for customers.
Oiwoh said NIBSS would continue to provide technical support and integration assistance as institutions work towards full compliance with Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements and optimise their API systems.
The Director of Payments System Supervision at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr Rakiya Opemi Yusuf, also urged financial institutions to speed up their integration with the NPS, reinforcing the apex bank’s support for the adoption of the ISO 20022 standard.
The new platform is expected to improve corporate reconciliation, merchant collections, request-to-pay services and high-volume payments while supporting direct debits and deferred settlement.
NIBSS said the rollout would continue until the financial industry achieves full migration to the NPS ahead of the planned decommissioning of the legacy NIP infrastructure.
