Nigeria’s instant payment infrastructure is emerging as a continental benchmark for inclusive digital finance, following insights shared at the Arab Payments Week 2026 (APW 2026) held in Abu Dhabi.
The conference, organised by Buna, the Arab Regional Payments Clearing and Settlement Organisation owned by the Arab Monetary Fund, convened policymakers, regulators and payment system operators to examine the future of domestic and cross-border payment systems. Discussions placed strong emphasis on instant payments as a form of digital public infrastructure critical to financial inclusion and economic integration.
“In 2025, NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) in Nigeria became the first IIPS in Africa to reach the mature inclusivity level, driven by significant investments in real-time fraud-prevention measures and strong consumer recourse mechanisms aligned with the directives of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),” the foundation stated.
Nigeria’s instant payments recognised
Speaking during a panel on inclusive instant payments, the AfricaNenda Foundation highlighted Nigeria’s progress in building a mature instant payment ecosystem, driven by regulatory oversight and sustained technological investment.
According to AfricaNenda’s State of Inclusive Instant Payment Systems in Africa (SIIPS) report, the NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) became the first system on the continent to attain the highest “mature” inclusivity rating in 2025.
“In 2025, NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) in Nigeria became the first IIPS in Africa to reach the mature inclusivity level, driven by significant investments in real-time fraud-prevention measures and strong consumer recourse mechanisms aligned with the directives of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),” the foundation stated.
The report noted that Nigeria’s system has evolved beyond basic digital cash transfers to enable broad participation across banks and non-bank financial service providers, underpinned by interoperability, affordability and robust consumer protection frameworks.
“At the mature level, a broad range of use cases are enabled as affordably as possible, with transparent consumer recourse mechanisms in place,” AfricaNenda added.
Instant Payment: Comparative African progress
The panel also highlighted comparable initiatives across the continent. Egypt’s Instant Payment Network (IPN), accessed through the InstaPay app, was cited as a growing model for domestic interoperability. In Mauritius, MauCAS IPS enables international remittances through interlinkages with India’s UPI and GIMACPAY at the regional level, facilitating cross-border payments across six countries within the Economic Community of Central African States.
Across Africa, 18 of the continent’s 36 instant payment systems currently support cross-domain interoperability; a capability regarded as central to scaling inclusive digital payments and reducing fragmentation.
Inclusivity as a governance process
Discussions at APW 2026 framed inclusivity not as a binary outcome, but as an evolving, technology-driven process shaped by system design, interoperability standards and governance models.
AfricaNenda’s inclusivity framework categorises instant payment systems into three stages, basic, progressed and mature, based on criteria including affordability, security, accessibility, interoperability and range of use cases.
Real-time transaction processing, bank-to-wallet interoperability and advanced fraud prevention tools were identified as essential components for achieving system maturity.
The panel featured Konstantin Peric, Deputy Director, Inclusive Financial Systems at the Gates Foundation; Sabine Mensah, Deputy CEO of AfricaNenda; Martin Hyde, Senior Vice President and Head of Business Development & Partnerships, Real-Time Payments at Mastercard; Steve Haley, Director of Market Development at the MojaLoop Foundation; and Suruj Dutta, Partner at KPMG Lower Gulf.
A key insight from the discussion was the evolving role of central banks in shaping payment system governance, particularly in Nigeria’s case.
“Across Africa, we’re seeing a deliberate shift toward governance models where central banks take a more active role to anchor inclusivity, stability and long-term public value in the IPS ecosystems,” the panel noted.
Rather than acting solely as regulators, central banks are increasingly positioned as neutral conveners overseeing interoperable digital rails that serve both public and private sector needs. By stepping into this role, they are helping to ensure that inclusive instant payment systems function as true digital public infrastructure.
Panelists observed that this governance approach has strengthened trust in Nigeria’s payment ecosystem, particularly through transparent fee structures, aligned regulatory directives and enforceable consumer protection frameworks.
Implications for financial inclusion
With an estimated 42% of adults across Africa still unbanked, scalable instant payment systems such as Nigeria’s NIP are seen as critical tools for closing access gaps.
When digital payments are available, affordable and instant, individuals are more likely to open accounts and deepen their usage of formal financial services. Reduced reliance on cash, lower transaction costs and seamless interoperability between banks and mobile wallets were identified as key enablers of broader financial inclusion.
The AfricaNenda Foundation, an African-led nonprofit organisation, is working to accelerate the growth of Inclusive Instant Payment Systems (IIPS) across the continent, with the goal of achieving universal financial inclusion by 2030. The organisation aims to expand access to affordable digital payments to 260 million financially excluded Africans.
Insights from APW 2026 position Nigeria’s instant payment infrastructure not only as a domestic success story, but as a reference model for other emerging markets seeking to design inclusive, resilient and interoperable digital payment ecosystems.
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