The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) has formalised an agreement to adopt payment processing technology from Transactility Inc. to develop its National Payment Stack (NPS). This next-generation platform is designed to modernise Nigeria’s instant payment infrastructure and provide a more robust framework for the country’s rapidly expanding financial ecosystem.
The NPS will leverage jPOS, an enterprise-grade, open-source software framework based on the ISO 8583 standard, which is the global benchmark for financial transaction messaging. By integrating this technology, NIBSS aims to enhance the scalability and flexibility of its transaction switching capabilities, ensuring that the nation’s financial rails can accommodate future innovations in digital finance.
NIBSS serves as the central switch for Nigeria’s banking industry and is owned by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and all licensed deposit money banks in the country. The institution is responsible for the NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) service, which has become one of the most successful real-time payment systems globally since its launch in 2011.
Data from NIBSS indicates that the volume of electronic payment transactions in Nigeria has reached unprecedented levels. In recent years, electronic payment channels have recorded transactions worth hundreds of trillions of Naira, driven by the increasing adoption of mobile banking and the growth of fintech services. This surge in volume has placed significant pressure on existing infrastructure, necessitating a transition to a more agile and modern architecture like the NPS.
Scaling Nigeria’s Digital Financial Infrastructure
Transactility Inc., based in the United States, specialises in providing high-performance transaction processing solutions built on the jPOS framework. The partnership will allow NIBSS to benefit from a system that is specifically designed for high-availability environments where downtime is not an option. The jPOS technology is already utilised by several major financial institutions and payment processors worldwide to handle millions of transactions daily.
The National Payment Stack is expected to serve as a foundational layer for several new financial products, including enhanced cross-border payment capabilities and more sophisticated retail payment solutions. By moving towards a more modular technology stack, NIBSS will be better positioned to integrate with emerging fintech platforms and international payment gateways, facilitating smoother interoperability within the local and global markets.
Industry analysts suggest that the move to the NPS is part of a broader strategy by the CBN to maintain Nigeria’s leadership in the African fintech landscape. According to reports by ACI Worldwide, Nigeria is consistently ranked among the top countries globally for real-time payment volumes, often outperforming many developed economies in terms of transaction speed and adoption.
The adoption of jPOS also signals a shift towards more standard-compliant messaging in the Nigerian banking sector. The ISO 8583 standard ensures that different financial systems can communicate seamlessly, reducing the friction often associated with inter-bank transfers and merchant processing. This is particularly critical as Nigeria moves toward more advanced financial services such as Open Banking.
The implementation of the new stack will involve a phased migration of existing services to ensure there is no disruption to the millions of Nigerians who rely on NIBSS for daily transactions. NIBSS and Transactility have indicated that the development of the NPS is already underway, with the goal of creating a more inclusive financial environment that supports the CBN’s financial inclusion targets.
As the project progresses, NIBSS is expected to provide further updates on the technical milestones of the NPS. The successful deployment of this stack will likely set a new standard for national payment infrastructure across the African continent, as other nations look to replicate Nigeria’s success in building a world-class real-time payments ecosystem.
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