NIBSS PROCESSES OVER 26 MILLION TRANSACTIONS AS FIRST BANK AND FIDELITY BANK LEAD IN VOLUME AND VALUE

NIBSS PROCESSES OVER 26 MILLION TRANSACTIONS AS FIRST BANK AND FIDELITY BANK LEAD IN VOLUME AND VALUE
By prince Benson Davies
The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc, NIBSS, has begun the phased deployment of the National Payment Stack, NPS, a new sovereign digital infrastructure built to modernize how money moves across Nigeria.

Designed to replace the 15-year-old NIBSS Instant Payment, NIP, system, the NPS is ISO 20022 compliant and built on a multi-currency architecture. It brings together payments, identity, and data on a single intelligent rail, with stronger capacity for cross-border trade, corporate payments, and real-time intelligence.

Early adoption has been swift. Within the first phase of rollout, the platform has processed 26.55 million transactions worth ₦1.4 trillion across 48 participating financial institutions. First Bank of Nigeria recorded the highest number of transactions by volume, while Fidelity Bank led in total transaction value. Other institutions driving early scale include Guaranty Trust Bank, Sterling Bank, Access Bank, and Moniepoint.

The introduction of NPS signals a shift from basic payment processing to what NIBSS describes as payment intelligence. The new stack is built around four major upgrades.

First is the ISO 20022 data architecture. This allows transactions to carry richer, structured information. The benefit is faster corporate reconciliation, smoother merchant collections, and automated request-to-pay invoicing.

Second is the unification of payment rails. Both retail transfers and high-volume corporate disbursements now run on one platform. The system also supports direct debits, asynchronous processing, and deferred settlement, giving banks and businesses more flexibility.

Third is embedded security and compliance. NPS comes with automated sanction screening, account validation, end-to-end encryption, and in-flight risk scoring. The goal is to detect and stop fraud before a transaction is completed.

Fourth is treasury precision. Participating banks now have real-time visibility of net positions and continuous settlement accounting. This helps lenders manage liquidity more effectively.

Speaking on the rollout, Premier Oiwoh, Managing Director and Chief Executive of NIBSS, described NPS as an economic catalyst.
“The National Payment Stack is moving our financial infrastructure from basic transaction processing to comprehensive payment intelligence. By delivering an ISO 20022-compliant, multi-currency rail, we are laying the groundwork for unprecedented interoperability, heightened security, and seamless regional trade,” he said.

He also called on all banks and fintechs to complete their integration quickly to ensure a smooth user experience. According to him, institutions must activate all related messages and both credit and debit transfer rails. NIBSS, he added, will continue to provide technical support, guidelines, and integration assistance to help institutions meet KYC standards and optimize API usage.

Oiwoh warned that full compliance will prevent congestion and protect system performance ahead of the final industry cut-over and the eventual decommissioning of the legacy NIP rail.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has also thrown its weight behind the migration. During a recent working visit to NIBSS headquarters, Dr. (Mrs.) Rakiya Opemi Yusuf, Director of the Payments System Supervision Department at the CBN, urged financial institutions to accelerate NPS integration. She reaffirmed the CBN’s full regulatory support for the adoption of ISO 20022 across Nigeria’s payment system.

About NIBSS
Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc was incorporated in 1993 and is owned by all licensed banks and the Central Bank of Nigeria. Operations began in June 1994. NIBSS provides the infrastructure for inter-bank payments and settlements in Nigeria and is responsible for reducing bottlenecks in funds transfer across the financial system. Its operations are supported by modern ICT infrastructure and security frameworks designed to mitigate operational and credit risks.