|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
NIBSS Instant Payment has been awarded the highest recognition on the African Instant Payment System (IPS) landscape, a milestone that firmly positions Nigeria at the forefront of digital payments on the continent.
In a resounding testament to its leadership, NIP was officially recognised as Africa’s first Instant Payment System to attain the “Mature” level of inclusivity on AfricaNenda’s IPS Inclusivity Spectrum, an achievement that reflects the very essence of the headline and underscores the platform’s historic ascent to the top of Africa’s payment ecosystem.
The recognition was announced at the State of Inclusive Instant Payment Systems (SIIPS) in Africa 2025 Report launch, held from November 12 to 14, 2025, in Ezulwini, Eswatini. The conference brought together about 200 delegates, including central bank governors, global instant payment operators, fintech innovators, regulators and top media representatives, all converging to shape the future of Africa’s digital payment landscape. The gathering also featured deep-dive policy dialogues, strategic sessions on IPS inclusivity, and actionable insights on strengthening the payments layer within Digital Public Infrastructure.
Read also: Mastercard, Zenith Bank drive affordable digital payments in Nigeria, unveil Essential Debit Card
In a statement signed by Lilian Phido, head of Corporate Communications at Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), the organisation explained that the award was grounded in AfricaNenda’s rigorous three-tier framework, which evaluates systems across functional inclusion, governance structure, and user-centric criteria. Under this framework, systems are classified as Basic, Progressed, or Mature. Achieving the “Mature” tier represents the highest possible recognition and signals excellence in inclusivity, reliability, accessibility and governance.
NIP’s ascent to the Mature level was enabled by its broad and inclusive participation model, extending access to banks, fintechs and non-bank institutions; its strong dispute-resolution and consumer-protection mechanisms; its twenty-four-hour real-time settlement and simplified onboarding that supports low-income and underserved users; and a solid technology backbone that delivers high throughput, consistent uptime and seamless transaction execution.
Commenting on the milestone, Premier Oiwoh, managing director/CEO of NIBSS, described the recognition as validation of a shared aspiration. According to him, the award “recognises not only a system, but a vision of inclusive growth. It reflects our ongoing commitment to deliver payments infrastructure that is faster, affordable, safer, interoperable and accessible to all Nigerians; and indeed to partner with the continent as we define the future of payments in Africa.”
For more than 14 years, the NIBSS Instant Payment platform has fundamentally reshaped Nigeria’s payment landscape. It has distinguished itself globally as the first of its kind anywhere in the world, serving as a pioneering model whose architecture and learnings continue to influence payment-modernisation efforts across various markets. Building on its legacy of innovation, NIBSS has also engineered the National Payment Stack (NPS), Africa’s first ISO 20022-compliant national infrastructure. NPS is designed to unlock enhanced security, deeper interoperability, richer data exchange, intelligent routing and multi-rail payment capabilities. Ultimately, NPS will replace the existing NIP platform, ushering in a future where payments in Nigeria are smarter, faster, more secure and even more inclusive.
NIBSS expressed profound appreciation to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for its unwavering policy direction and regulatory excellence, which have guided the institution’s growth and reinforced industry resilience. The CBN’s leadership has helped drive innovations that deepen financial inclusion and elevate Nigeria’s position on the global payment stage.
The SIIPS recognition is benchmarked against global standards of payment-system excellence and aligns with the principles upheld by institutions such as the World Bank, IMF and BIS, where interoperability, security and inclusivity serve as markers of a world-class payment system. By achieving the Mature rating, NIP now stands among leading global infrastructures that meet these stringent benchmarks.
Read also: The Cardinality Shift in Fintech Payments Reconciliation
As NIBSS continues to anchor the nation’s digital payments transformation, the milestone signifies a collective victory for all players across the Nigerian payments ecosystem, from banks and fintechs to payment service providers and other financial institutions connected through NIP. Together, they have built a system that processes millions of seamless, real-time transactions daily, fostering trust, innovation and financial inclusion.
The AfricaNenda recognition not only validates NIP’s maturity and nationwide impact, it cements Nigeria’s status as a regional payments powerhouse and sets a new gold standard for Africa’s digital financial future.
