NIBSS Adopts jPOS Tech for National Payment Stack

In Short

• NIBSS has adopted jPOS-based technology from Transactility to build its National Payment Stack, a new instant payments platform for Nigeria.
• The system is designed to support instant bank transfers, QR merchant payments, phone-number-based payment addressing, and bulk payments.
• NIBSS says it chose a modular setup so it can customise the stack and keep control of the roadmap.

What Happened

NIBSS has adopted payment processing technology from Transactility Inc. for its National Payment Stack (NPS). NIBSS is the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System, the shared infrastructure provider owned by the Central Bank of Nigeria and licensed deposit money banks.

The National Payment Stack is positioned as a next-generation instant payments platform. Instant payments means transfers that move in seconds, not hours, even across different banks.

NIBSS said the NPS uses a modular architecture, meaning it is built from separate components that can be swapped or upgraded without rebuilding everything. As part of the build, NIBSS is using Transactility’s jPTS switch, which is built on the open-source jPOS framework.

NIBSS also said the approach gives it access to the source code. That matters because it can change the software to fit local rules and new product needs, instead of waiting for a vendor.

The platform supports ISO 8583 and ISO 20022. These are messaging standards, basically the formats financial systems use to “speak” to each other, ISO 20022 is the newer and more data-rich standard.

Why It Matters

Nigeria’s payments market keeps growing across mobile apps, agency banking, and merchant QR. A National Payment Stack that supports QR payments, bulk payouts, and phone-number addressing could reduce friction for banks, fintechs, and large billers.

The move also signals that open-source foundations, with commercial support, are becoming acceptable for critical national infrastructure. For operators, the key questions will be rollout timelines, interoperability with existing rails, and how quickly new services can be added as regulation changes.