The Nigeria Inter‑Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) has unveiled the National Payment Stack (NPS)—a cloud‑native, ISO 20022 infrastructure intended to anchor Nigeria’s next half‑century of digital finance.
The launch took place before an audience that included Lagos State Deputy Chief of Staff Samuel Egube (representing Governor Babajide Sanwo‑Olu); National Identity Management Commission Director‑General Bisoye Coker‑Odusote; a nine‑member Central Bank of Nigeria delegation led by Director of Payment‑System Policy Musa Jimoh (standing in for Deputy Governor and NIBSS Chair Philip Ikeazor); managing directors of deposit‑money banks, switches and fintechs; the CEO of the AfricaNenda Foundation; Chris Lu, Managing Director of Huawei Nigeria; and central‑bank technocrats from 20 African countries participating in a peer‑learning visit.
“We have not merely refreshed our rails; we have laid the digital bedrock for a one‑trillion‑dollar Nigerian economy,” NIBSS Managing Director Premier Oiwoh told the assembly.
Built to supersede the 14‑year‑old NIBSS Instant Payments system, the NPS fuses global standards with local realities. Its ISO 20022 messaging enables real‑time bulk or single transfers with instant settlement and automated reconciliation.
The platform integrates Bank‑Verification‑Number, company‑registration and tax‑identification databases for Know‑Your‑Customer checks; applies AI‑driven fraud‑rating algorithms; and offers request‑to‑pay, direct‑debit and sandbox APIs that partners can deploy within 48 hours. Multi‑currency processing and cross‑border “plug‑in” modules position the stack as a continental utility.
Mr Jimoh, speaking for the CBN, called the NPS “a transformative milestone that will deepen public trust, expand financial inclusion and catalyse innovation across West Africa’s payment landscape.”
Echoing that view, Mr Egube praised the project as a “home‑grown collaboration that will make commerce faster, safer and more transparent for all who live and do business in Lagos.”
Delegates from Ghana to Rwanda expressed interest in replicating the model. AfricaNenda’s chief executive noted that the stack’s in‑built dispute‑management workflow and real‑time analytics align with the Pan‑African Payment and Settlement System vision.
With the National Payment Stack now live, Nigeria is wagering that a secure, interoperable rail—engineered at home but benchmarked to the highest global standards—will be the engine that powers both domestic growth and Africa‑wide connectivity in the decades ahead.
