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The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) has recorded more than 100 million successful transactions on its National Payment Stack (NPS), marking another milestone in Nigeria’s efforts to modernise its payments infrastructure.
The milestone was reached as of Friday, September 25, highlighting the growing adoption of the payment infrastructure across Nigeria’s financial services ecosystem.
Built around the ISO 20022 global messaging standard, the NPS provides a unified foundation for secure, data-rich and interoperable payments.
ISO 20022 strengthens payment interoperability
NIBSS said the NPS’s compliance with ISO 20022 supports greater interoperability across payment participants while improving straight-through processing and the quality of transaction data.
The standard also enables richer data to support greater transparency, fraud monitoring and regulatory reporting across the payments ecosystem.
By providing a common payment rail, the NPS is designed to reduce the complexity involved in integrating different financial institutions and payment platforms. The approach can also lower cost-to-serve and give financial technology companies and other payment providers greater room to develop new services.
The infrastructure serves a broad range of participants, including commercial banks, microfinance banks, fintech companies, mobile money operators and payment service providers.
Payment infrastructure extends financial inclusion
Beyond transaction volumes, the growth of the NPS is expected to support wider access to digital financial services, particularly for businesses and individuals operating at the last mile.
Small businesses, merchants and agents can benefit from faster and more reliable payment services, while customers who remain underserved by traditional banking channels can gain greater access to digital transactions.
NIBSS said the infrastructure’s security architecture and end-to-end protection are also intended to strengthen confidence in Nigeria’s digital payment ecosystem.
Greater reliability and access to digital payments can support economic activity by making it easier for businesses to receive and make payments, while contributing to broader financial inclusion and digital participation.
NIBSS targets resilient payments ecosystem
Commenting on the milestone, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NIBSS, Premier Oiwoh, described the achievement as evidence of the collective effort to develop Nigeria’s payments infrastructure.
“Surpassing 100 million transactions on the National Payment Stack is a validation of our collective resolve to build a world-class payment system for Nigeria,” Oiwoh said.
“With ISO 20022 compliance at its core, NPS is not just processing transactions; it is securing livelihoods, empowering the last mile, and strengthening the resilience of our entire financial ecosystem.”
The milestone comes as Nigeria’s financial sector continues to move towards increasingly digital payment channels, making interoperability, data standards, cybersecurity and system resilience important components of the country’s financial infrastructure.
NIBSS reiterated its commitment to working with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), Microfinance Banks (MFBs), Payment Service Banks (PSBs), fintechs and other stakeholders to strengthen Nigeria’s payments ecosystem.
The company said continued collaboration across the industry would remain important to building a secure, inclusive and globally competitive payment system capable of supporting the country’s expanding digital economy.
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