Introduced in 2012, NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) is Nigeria’s foremost digital payment infrastructure. It is managed by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), which was founded in 1993 and is jointly owned by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and licensed banks in the country.
The NIP system operates around the clock, providing an account-based, real-time Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) solution for seamless transactions.
Over the years, NIP has transformed into a comprehensive payment platform. By 2023, it was utilized by 13% of Nigeria’s estimated population of 224 million—marking an increase of almost 77% from 2020.
The NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) system allows banks and mobile money operators to participate directly, providing an interoperable platform for transactions across channels such as internet and mobile banking, POS, agents, USSD, ATMs, and branches. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has driven innovation in the financial sector, including the launch of the Bank Verification Number (BVN) in 2014 for secure customer identification, and the AfriGO Card in 2023. The AfriGO Card is a domestic scheme aimed at enhancing security, data sovereignty, and local skills, while providing lower costs in local currency. Recently, instant POS settlements for AfriGO card transactions were introduced, improving cash flow for merchants.
