The Nigeria Inter Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) has commenced the rollout of the National Payment Stack (NPS), with the new payment infrastructure recording 26.55 million transactions valued at ₦1.4 trillion across 48 participating institutions.
The development marks a major step in Nigeria’s transition from the legacy NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) platform to a sovereign and ISO 20022 compliant payment infrastructure designed to modernise the country’s financial ecosystem.
FirstBank of Nigeria emerged as the leading institution by transaction volume, while Fidelity Bank recorded the highest transaction value among participating institutions. Guaranty Trust Bank, Sterling Bank, Access Bank and Moniepoint are also among the institutions driving early adoption of the NPS.
According to NIBSS, the NPS brings payments, identity and data onto a unified digital infrastructure, providing a multi currency architecture capable of supporting domestic transactions while laying the foundation for more efficient cross border payments.
The platform adopts the ISO 20022 data architecture, enabling structured transaction information that can improve corporate reconciliation, simplify merchant collections and support request to pay invoicing. It also provides a unified rail for single transfers and high volume corporate disbursements.
NIBSS said the system incorporates enhanced security and compliance features, including automated sanctions screening, account validation, end to end encryption and transaction risk scoring designed to identify potential fraud before payments are executed.
The platform also provides participating financial institutions with real time visibility of their net positions and continuous settlement accounting, a feature expected to strengthen treasury operations and improve liquidity management across the banking system.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NIBSS, Premier Oiwoh, described the National Payment Stack as an economic catalyst that would move Nigeria’s payment infrastructure beyond basic transaction processing to a more intelligent and integrated financial system.
Oiwoh also urged participating financial institutions to complete the activation of relevant messaging and fund transfer credit and debit processing rails. He said full technical and operational alignment would be critical to preventing congestion, ensuring compliance with Know Your Customer requirements and maintaining system performance.
The Director of the Payments System Supervision Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr Rakiya Opemi Yusuf, has similarly urged financial institutions to accelerate their integration with the NPS. NIBSS said the CBN’s position reinforces regulatory support for the adoption of ISO 20022 as Nigeria moves towards the eventual decommissioning of the 15 year old NIP platform.