The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), in collaboration with the AfricaNenda Foundation, has unveiled the National Payment Stack (NPS), a next-generation digital infrastructure designed to transform instant payments across Africa.

The unveiling took place at a high-level welcome dinner in Lagos, which brought together senior representatives of central banks, regulators, and payment system operators from 20 African countries.

The NPS, described as a unified, ISO 20022-compliant framework, integrates payments, identity, and consent to deliver secure, intelligent, and interoperable financial transactions. Positioned as a strategic enabler, the platform is expected to significantly improve operational efficiency, transparency, and financial inclusion across the continent.

Speaking at the official launch, Managing Director and CEO of the NIBSS, Premier Oiwoh, said the new platform represents a strategic evolution of Nigeria’s instant payments infrastructure, which was first pioneered in 2011.

“For 14 years, we have run the NIP platform, the first account-based instant payment system in the world. Today marks the birth of its successor, the NPS, which comes enhanced with new capabilities built on the ISO 20022 messaging standard,” Oiwoh said.

He described the upgrade as not just a technological leap but a consolidation of over a decade of industry learnings aimed at creating a more intelligent, secure, and integrated payments system. The NPS is expected to significantly improve data interoperability, regulatory oversight, and fraud mitigation across the financial services ecosystem.

Oiwoh also noted that the platform positions Nigeria as a continental leader in payments innovation. With delegates from 20 African countries attending the launch on a study tour, he emphasised Nigeria’s readiness to support peer nations in building or upgrading their instant payment systems.

The Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability at CBN and chairman of NIBSS Board, Philip Ikeazor, highlighted the significance of the NPS, describing it as a transformative milestone for both NIBSS and Nigeria’s financial ecosystem; one that lays the foundation for deeper trust, greater inclusion, and the next wave of innovation across the digital payment landscape.

The Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Abisoye Coker, emphasised the pivotal role of digital identity in driving financial inclusion and national development.

Citing the World Bank’s 2021 Global Findings Database, he noted that 45 per cent of adults in sub-Saharan Africa remain unbanked.

“In Nigeria, about 38 million adults still lack access to basic banking services, many of them women, rural dwellers, and other underserved groups,” he said.

Coker outlined how NIMC, through strategic collaborations with NIBSS and other stakeholders, is integrating identity solutions such as the National Identification Number (NIN) and Bank Verification Number (BVN) to simplify onboarding, ensure secure payments, and reduce fraud.

He disclosed that as of June 2025, over 120 million Nigerians had been enrolled in the national identity database and that NIMC is targeting 95 percent coverage by December.

She also referenced NIMC’s partnership with initiatives like the Nigeria Education Loan Fund and programmes for MSMEs, which now use biometric verification to facilitate access to funding and government support. According to her, these efforts have significantly improved transaction speed and trust, with over 9.6 billion instant payment transactions valued at N603 trillion processed in 2023 alone.

Delivering the keynote address, The CEO of AfricaNenda Foundation, Dr Robert Ochola, said that the launch is a bold statement of Africa’s readiness to take ownership of its financial future.

Represented by the organisation’s Director of Advocacy and Capacity Development, Jacqueline Jumah, he said, “We are not just sharing strategies, we are stretching the boundaries of what is possible in Africa’s financial future,” he said.

Referencing the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the legacy of the Lagos Plan of Action, he called for a shift from fragmented financial systems to fully integrated, inclusive digital economies.