NPS Records 26.55m Transactions Worth N1.4trn as FirstBank, Fidelity Bank Lead

 NPS Records 26.55m Transactions Worth N1.4trn as FirstBank, Fidelity Bank Lead

The National Payment Stack (NPS), Nigeria’s new sovereign digital payments infrastructure, has processed 26.55 million transactions valued at N1.4 trillion across 48 participating financial institutions, barely after its rollout.

The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) Plc disclosed this on Tuesday, saying the early transaction figures demonstrate rapid adoption of the platform, which is designed to replace the 15-year-old NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) system and modernise Nigeria’s payments ecosystem.

FirstBank of Nigeria emerged as the leading institution by transaction volume, while Fidelity Bank recorded the highest aggregate transaction value on the platform.

Other major early adopters contributing significantly to the network’s growth include Guaranty Trust Bank, Sterling Bank, Access Bank and Moniepoint.

The NPS is built as a sovereign, ISO 20022-compliant infrastructure that brings payments, identity and data onto a unified digital rail, while supporting multi-currency transactions and enhanced cross-border payment capabilities.

According to NIBSS, the platform introduces several structural and operational improvements to Nigeria’s financial system.

One of these is its ISO 20022 data architecture, which enables structured and metadata-rich payment information capable of improving corporate reconciliation, merchant collections and request-to-pay invoicing.

The platform also consolidates single transfers and high-volume corporate disbursements on a unified payment rail, with support for direct debits, asynchronous processing and deferred settlement options.

NIBSS said security and compliance have also been embedded into the platform through automated sanctions screening, account validation, end-to-end encryption and real-time risk scoring designed to identify potentially fraudulent transactions before execution.

The payment infrastructure further provides participating financial institutions with real-time visibility of net positions and continuous settlement accounting to enhance liquidity and treasury management.

Speaking on the development, NIBSS Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Premier Oiwoh, described the National Payment Stack as an economic catalyst capable of moving Nigeria’s payment infrastructure beyond basic transaction processing.

“The National Payment Stack represents an economic catalyst moving our financial infrastructure from basic transaction processing to comprehensive payment intelligence,” Oiwoh said.

He said the ISO 20022-compliant, multi-currency platform would provide the foundation for greater interoperability, stronger security and improved regional trade.

However, Oiwoh stressed the need for participating financial institutions to complete their technical and operational integration to ensure a seamless experience for users.

He urged institutions to activate all relevant messaging capabilities as well as funds transfer credit and debit processing rails, while ensuring compliance with KYC validation requirements and optimising API consumption.

According to him, full participant readiness would help prevent platform congestion, enforce proper usage standards and protect overall system performance as NIBSS works towards completing the integration of Funds Transfer Debit and advanced messaging capabilities.

He added that the ultimate objective is a seamless industry-wide transition to the NPS ahead of the planned decommissioning of the legacy NIP rail.

The call for accelerated integration was also reinforced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with the Director of the Payments System Supervision Department, Dr. Rakiya Opemi Yusuf, urging financial institutions to speed up their NPS integration.

Yusuf made the call during a recent working visit to the NIBSS headquarters, reaffirming the CBN’s regulatory support for the adoption of the ISO 20022 standard across Nigeria’s payment system.

NIBSS, incorporated in 1993 and operational since June 1994, is owned by licensed Nigerian banks, including the CBN.

The institution provides infrastructure for inter-bank payments and settlement, with systems designed to facilitate efficient funds transfers while mitigating operational and credit risks across participating financial institutions.