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Nigeria’s digital payments ecosystem hit a milestone on Friday, 7 November 2025, when Wema Bank and PalmPay became the first financial institutions in Nigeria to execute a real-time (live) transaction on the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System’s (NIBSS) newly launched National Payment Stack (NPS).
According to a statement from NIBSS, the financial institutions carried out the real-time (live) transaction at exactly 11:56 a.m. onFriday morning, which was November 7, 2025, and it
was settled in mere milliseconds—showcasing the system’s speed and real-time capability. This accomplishment has indeed prompted a new era of seamless, secure, and inclusive financial transactions in Nigeria.The NPS is designed and developed by NIBSS to replace the older payments rail (NIBSS Instant Payments (NIP)). The newly launched NPS is now offering upgraded architecture, full interoperability among banks and fintechs, and support for the international messaging standard ISO 20022. ISO20022 is a framework that enhances interoperability, data richness, and compliance with global financial systems.
The NPS also features multiple layers of advanced security, such as multi-factor authentication and digital signatures, to ensure the safety of customer information. This development comes as part of Nigeria’s push toward a digital-first economy—the economy that's aimed toward deepening financial inclusion and supporting the country’s ambition to become a $1 trillion economy in the coming years.
In its statement, NIBSS hailed Wema Bank and PalmPay as “trailblazers” and urged other banks and payment service providers to onboard the NPS so Nigeria can deliver faster, more secure, and more inclusive payment services.
Wema Bank and Palmpay's Participation in the NPS's Live-Transaction
Palmpay and Wema Bank's involvement as the first live-transaction participants of the NIBSS's NPS sends a signal of confidence. A large fintech like PalmPay plus a major commercial bank like Wema Bank participating means the payment infrastructure is being adopted by both ends of the ecosystem—both the digital natives and the traditional banks.
In addition to that, the financial institutions' reach means the benefits of NPS can start to cascade quickly into end-users: consumers, merchants, and SMEs. In a nutshell, PalmPay’s strong transaction volume—15 million daily transactions in Q1 2025—and Wema’s banking infrastructure provide a testbed for NPS’s capability at scale.
Wema Bank's digital initiatives include “ALAT for Business” (serving SMEs), “ALAT Xplore” for younger customers, and the cooperative-society platform “CoopHub.” These are to show that this is not the first time Wema Bank is diving into digital innovation in Nigeria. The bank, founded in 1945, has in recent years positioned itself as a digital-innovation leader in Nigerian banking. The bank is noted in the digital banking brand as ALAT.
What you should know
If you're just hearing about NPS or NIP for the very first time in Nigeria, here are things you should know about the NIBSS, NIP, and NPS—the real-time payment system that just went live.
- NIBSS launched NIP—Nigeria’s real-time, account-based payments infrastructure—around 2011.
- The agency also introduced the NPS in June this year to revolutionize instant payment in the country.
- NIBSS was created in 1993 and is owned by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and deposit money banks.
- NIBSS has played a central role in providing payments, settlement, and identity-validation infrastructure in Nigeria.
- The volume of e-payments processed through NIBSS systems has surged in the recent year. Let me make it clear; for instance, in Q1 2025, e-payments via NIBSS in Nigeria hit about ₦284.9 trillion.
- NIP has enabled electronic transfers across channels—mobile, USSD, internet banking, ATM, and POS—and has contributed significantly to the shift from cash to digital.
- However, NIP was designated for upgrade and transition. The payment system was given age and limitations—including less rich data payloads and older messaging formats—so that it can easily be transitioned whenever the time comes.
- Now, NIBSS is transitioning NIP to NPS as the next-generation payments rail for Nigeria. Here are what the NPS can do:
- Real-time transactions and instant settlement.
- Messaging compliant with the ISO 20022 standard (richer data, global interoperability).
- Unified rail supporting both single and bulk payments.
- Request-to-Pay and direct debit functionalities are incorporated.
- Multi-currency readiness and cross-border potential.
- Integrated identity (or KYC) using BVN, TIN, or RC number, plus improved fraud risk scoring.
- Sandbox environment for both partner and integration testing.
The NPS builds on the legacy of NIBSS Instant Payments (NIP), which was built 14 years ago as Africa’s first real-time account-based digital payment solution. At the Lagos launch, NIBSS Managing Director Premier Oiwoh explained that the National Payment Stack was developed to position Nigeria for the next phase of digital payments.
He highlighted that the system aims to boost innovation, expand financial inclusion, and enhance the efficiency of government-related payments, taxes, and revenue collection. Oiwoh added that as Nigeria pursues its goal of becoming a $1 trillion economy within eight years, a modernized payment infrastructure like the NPS is vital to support and accelerate that growth.
What do you think about this new payment system? Is it a real game-changer for Nigeria’s financial landscape or just another upgrade to existing infrastructure? Let's know your thoughts and opinions in the comment section.
