Nigeria’s NIP Becomes Africa’s First Fully Mature Instant Payment System
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Nigeria has emerged as a continental leader in digital payments as its Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIP) became the first instant payment system in Africa to attain the “matured” level of inclusivity.
The announcement was made at the launch of the State of Instant Payment Systems (SIIPS) 2025 report in Eswatini, where Nigeria received a standing ovation from bankers, investors, and other stakeholders in attendance.
The 2025 SIIPS report was produced by the AfricaNenda Foundation in partnership with the Central Bank of Eswatini, the World Bank, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). The report evaluates the state of instant retail payment systems across Africa, focusing on their inclusivity in terms of functionality, governance, and consumer protection.
Instant payment systems are defined as open-loop retail payment platforms that enable low-value, digital credit push transactions in near real time, operating 24 hours a day throughout the year.
For the first time since the report’s inception, a payment system has reached the matured category, the highest level on AfricaNenda’s inclusivity spectrum. Nigeria had come close to achieving this milestone in 2024 but fell short due to gaps in providing additional recourse channels for end users.
Announcing the development, AfricaNenda’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Sabine Mensah, described the achievement as groundbreaking and a major milestone for instant payment systems on the continent.
Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES, the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of NIBSS, Premier Oiwoh, said the progress was the result of sustained reforms and industry collaboration.
He explained that the establishment of an industry-wide dispute resolution platform, driven by the Central Bank of Nigeria, played a critical role in reaching the matured level. According to him, the platform has significantly reduced disputes within the payments ecosystem and strengthened consumer confidence.
AfricaNenda assesses inclusivity using three broad categories: unrated, basic, progressed, and mature. The 2025 report shows that 10 payment systems across Africa remain unranked, 15 are at the basic level, and 10 are classified as progressed, with Nigeria’s NIP standing alone at the matured level.
The report noted that Nigeria’s NIP is the first instant payment system in Africa to reach mature inclusivity, adding that the main challenges preventing progressed systems from advancing further are limited use cases and weak consumer recourse mechanisms.
Despite this achievement, the report revealed that two other Nigerian payment systems, eNaira and Mobile Money Systems, remain at the basic level of inclusivity.
Meanwhile, NIBSS recently launched the National Payment Stack, a new digital infrastructure aimed at unifying and modernising Nigeria’s payment ecosystem, a move expected to further strengthen the country’s leadership in Africa’s digital payments landscape.
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