Nigeria's new National Payment Stack (NPS) has processed 26.55 million transactions valued at ₦1.4 trillion across 48 participating financial institutions, marking a significant early milestone in the country's transition to a new generation of payment infrastructure.
The National Payment Stack, being rolled out by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), is designed to succeed the existing NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) infrastructure and provide a more advanced, sovereign and interconnected payments system for Nigeria.
The new platform is built on the ISO 20022 messaging standard and combines payment processing, identity and data capabilities on a unified digital infrastructure.
Early transaction figures indicate rapid adoption across the financial services sector, with First Bank of Nigeria recording the highest transaction volume, while Fidelity Bank leads in total transaction value.
Other financial institutions identified among the key early adopters include Guaranty Trust Bank, Sterling Bank, Access Bank and Moniepoint.
The development marks an important stage in Nigeria's efforts to modernise its payment infrastructure as transaction volumes continue to grow and financial institutions increasingly require faster, safer and more intelligent payment systems.
What the National Payment Stack means for Nigeria
Unlike a traditional payment rail focused primarily on moving money from one account to another, the NPS is designed to combine transaction processing with richer payment data and intelligence.
Its adoption of the ISO 20022 data architecture allows financial institutions to process more structured and detailed transaction information.
The system is expected to support automated corporate reconciliation, improve merchant collections and enable features such as request-to-pay invoicing.
The platform also brings different payment capabilities onto a unified infrastructure, including single transfers and high-volume corporate disbursements.
It is designed to support direct debits, asynchronous processing and deferred settlement options, providing financial institutions with greater flexibility in managing transactions.
Security and fraud prevention
Security is another major feature of the new payment infrastructure.
The National Payment Stack incorporates automated sanctions screening, account validation, end-to-end encryption and in-flight risk scoring designed to identify potential fraudulent transactions before they are executed.
The platform is also expected to give participating financial institutions greater visibility over their real-time net positions and settlement accounts.
For banks and other financial institutions, the enhanced visibility could improve liquidity management and treasury operations while reducing some of the operational risks associated with payment processing.
NIBSS: NPS is more than a payment system
Speaking on the development, Premier Oiwoh, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NIBSS, described the National Payment Stack as an important step in the evolution of Nigeria's financial infrastructure.
He said the platform would move the country's payments ecosystem beyond basic transaction processing towards what he described as payment intelligence.
“The National Payment Stack represents an economic catalyst moving our financial infrastructure from basic transaction processing to comprehensive payment intelligence.”
According to Oiwoh, the platform's ISO 20022 compliance and multi-currency architecture will create opportunities for greater interoperability, stronger security and smoother regional trade.
He also called on participating financial institutions to complete the required technical and operational integrations to ensure a seamless experience for customers.
NIBSS urges banks to complete NPS integration
NIBSS has urged participating financial institutions to activate the relevant messaging and fund-transfer credit and debit processing capabilities as the transition progresses.
Oiwoh said full ecosystem readiness would depend on financial institutions aligning their systems with the technical and operational requirements of the new platform.
He added that NIBSS would continue to provide technical support, integration guidelines and assistance to institutions working towards compliance with KYC validation requirements and optimal API usage.
The objective, he said, is to prevent platform congestion, maintain system performance and ensure that participating institutions are ready for the eventual industry-wide transition.
The National Payment Stack is ultimately expected to replace the 15-year-old NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) rail, which has served as one of the country's major electronic payment infrastructures.
CBN backs National Payment Stack transition
The Central Bank of Nigeria has also backed the transition, with Dr. Rakiya Opemi Yusuf, Director of the Payments System Supervision Department, urging financial institutions to accelerate their integration with the NPS.
Yusuf made the call during a working visit to the NIBSS headquarters, where she emphasised the importance of industry-wide adoption of the new payment infrastructure.
Her position reinforces the CBN's regulatory support for the ISO 20022 standard as Nigeria continues to modernise its payments ecosystem.
First Bank and Fidelity Bank emerge early leaders
The early performance of the National Payment Stack has also placed First Bank and Fidelity Bank in the spotlight.
While First Bank leads participating institutions in transaction volume, Fidelity Bank ranks highest in transaction value, highlighting the different levels and nature of payment activity already taking place on the platform.
With 26.55 million transactions worth ₦1.4 trillion already processed across 48 institutions, the early figures suggest that adoption of the NPS is gaining momentum.
The participation of other major financial institutions, including GTBank, Sterling Bank, Access Bank and Moniepoint, further points to the broadening reach of the platform.
Nigeria's next phase of digital payments
The rollout of the National Payment Stack comes as Nigeria's digital payments ecosystem continues to expand, driven by increasing adoption of electronic transfers, digital banking, fintech services and cashless transactions.
The transition to a more modern payment infrastructure is therefore expected to have implications beyond banks and financial technology companies.
Businesses, merchants and consumers could ultimately benefit from faster interoperability, improved security, richer transaction information and new payment capabilities as more institutions complete their integration.
For NIBSS, the long-term objective is a fully integrated payment ecosystem capable of supporting Nigeria's growing digital economy while also positioning the country for deeper participation in regional and international financial transactions.
With 26.55 million transactions already processed, the early performance of the National Payment Stack provides an indication of the scale of activity that could emerge as more institutions complete the transition.