Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) has announced the rollout of its National Payment Stack (NPS), a next-generation ISO 20022 instant payments platform built for Nigeria's payments ecosystem. The platform was developed using Transactility's jPOS open-source technology, including the high performance jPTS switch. The announcement highlights the growing role of open source infrastructure in supporting national payment systems at scale.
A Modular Foundation for Instant Payments
NIBSS designed the NPS using a modular architecture that combines capabilities developed in-house with selected open and enterprise technologies. The foundation is Transactility's jPTS switch, which is built on jPOS, the widely used ISO 8583 payment processing framework. The platform supports account-to-account instant transfers, QR merchant payments, alias-based addressing such as phone numbers, and bulk payments.
National Scale Performance and ISO 20022 Support
The NPS is designed to deliver the performance and availability required for national payment infrastructure while providing a foundation for new services as the market develops. NIBSS has used jPOS within its payment infrastructure for many years, particularly for ISO 8583 transaction processing. For the NPS, NIBSS leveraged jPTS and its newly introduced ISO 20022 support to architect a switch purpose-built for the demands of Africa's largest economy.
Source Access and Strategic Control
By using source-accessible technology, NIBSS retains control over the NPS architecture, product roadmap, operational development, and the intellectual property it develops for the platform. This approach allows the organization to extend the system and respond to market and regulatory requirements without depending on a proprietary vendor's release cycle. It also supports the long-term evolution of Nigeria's payment infrastructure in line with local needs.
Proven Open Source Technology
jPOS is an open source framework for payment transaction processing that has been used for more than 25 years. It supports payment gateways, switches, and transaction-processing systems, including ISO 8583 and ISO 20022 messaging. Transactility is the commercial steward of jPOS and serves clients in over 120 countries. The framework remains widely used for mission critical financial infrastructure.
Leadership Perspectives
Premier Oiwoh, Managing Director and CEO of NIBSS, stated that the NPS was designed and built for the scale and demands of the Nigerian payments market. He added that the jPOS ecosystem gives NIBSS the flexibility to continue developing the platform as the ecosystem evolves. Alejandro Revilla, Founder and CTO of Transactility, described the rollout as an important milestone and noted that NPS shows how open technology and local engineering can build national payment infrastructure at scale.
Implications for Nigeria's Payment Ecosystem
The rollout positions NIBSS to expand digital payment access across Nigeria and the wider region. The platform's support for aliases, QR codes, and bulk payments addresses common barriers to adoption for individuals and businesses. As the central payment infrastructure operator, NIBSS can use the NPS to drive further innovation and interoperability in the country's financial system.
The rollout of the National Payment Stack marks a significant step for Nigeria's digital payments ecosystem and a notable example of open source adoption in national financial infrastructure. The collaboration between NIBSS and Transactility demonstrates how local engineering can combine with proven open technology to deliver scalable, secure payment services. It provides a foundation for future innovation and financial inclusion across Africa's largest economy.