NIBSS and Transactility Advance Nigeria’s National Payment Infrastructure With ISO 20022 Technology
The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), Nigeria’s central payment infrastructure operator, has leveraged technology from Transactility, Inc. to develop and roll out the National Payment Stack (NPS), a next-generation instant payments platform designed to support the evolving needs of Nigeria’s payments ecosystem.
The platform uses Transactility’s jPOS open-source technology, including its high-performance jPTS switch, as part of a modular architecture developed by NIBSS. Designed around the ISO 20022 messaging standard, the National Payment Stack aims to support instant payments and a range of digital payment services while providing the flexibility needed to accommodate future developments in the Nigerian financial market.
The announcement highlights the role of open-source technology and local engineering expertise in developing payment infrastructure for a national market. By combining established payment-processing technology with capabilities designed and developed by NIBSS, the NPS provides a foundation for supporting payment services across Nigeria’s financial ecosystem.
NIBSS has used jPOS technology within its payment infrastructure for several years, particularly for processing transactions based on the ISO 8583 messaging standard. For the National Payment Stack, the organization expanded its use of the jPOS ecosystem by leveraging jPTS and its newly introduced ISO 20022 support to build a switch designed for the demands of Nigeria’s economy.
The platform is intended to support account-to-account instant transfers, QR-based merchant payments, alias-based addressing using identifiers such as phone numbers, and bulk payments. These capabilities are designed to serve different payment needs while helping establish a flexible foundation for future services.
NIBSS Uses Open Technology to Develop the National Payment Stack
The National Payment Stack was designed and developed by NIBSS using a modular architecture that combines internally developed capabilities with selected open-source and enterprise technologies.
This approach allows NIBSS to bring together established payment-processing components and its own engineering expertise to build infrastructure tailored to the requirements of Nigeria’s payments market. Rather than depending on a single technology platform for every component, the modular design allows different capabilities to work together within the broader system.
Transactility’s jPOS technology forms part of this architecture. The company’s jPOS ecosystem is widely used for payment processing, with jPOS serving as an established technology for handling ISO 8583-based transactions. NIBSS has relied on the technology for years, making it a familiar component of its payment infrastructure.
For the NPS, NIBSS selected the jPTS switch, which is built on jPOS and provides support for high-performance payment processing. The addition of ISO 20022 capabilities enables the technology to support the messaging requirements of the new platform.
The decision reflects NIBSS’ approach of combining proven technology with its own payment expertise. By building on a technology ecosystem it already uses, the organization can apply existing knowledge while extending the platform to support a new generation of payment services.
The National Payment Stack is designed specifically for the Nigerian market, where national payment infrastructure must accommodate a range of institutions, transaction types, and user requirements. Its architecture is intended to provide the performance and availability needed for national payment services while allowing the system to evolve as the market changes.
ISO 20022 Support Forms a Core Part of the Platform
A central element of the National Payment Stack is its use of the ISO 20022 messaging standard. ISO 20022 provides a common framework for exchanging financial messages and supports structured information across different types of financial transactions.
The standard is used across various areas of financial services, including payments and other financial messaging activities. Its structured approach can help systems exchange transaction information in a consistent format, supporting interoperability and the development of modern payment services.
For a national instant payments platform, messaging standards are an important part of the underlying infrastructure. Payment systems must process transaction instructions and communicate relevant information between participating systems. Consistent messaging can help support this process as payment networks connect institutions and introduce additional services.
NIBSS incorporated ISO 20022 into the NPS architecture using the capabilities available through Transactility’s jPTS technology. This builds on the organization’s longstanding use of jPOS for ISO 8583 transaction processing while extending the technology base for the new platform.
The use of both established payment-processing technology and newer messaging capabilities reflects the platform’s focus on combining operational experience with updated technical requirements.
The announcement does not suggest that ISO 20022 alone determines the performance or capabilities of the system. Rather, the standard forms one component of a broader architecture that includes payment-switching technology, NIBSS-developed functionality, and operational processes.
Together, these elements are intended to support a platform that can handle the needs of Nigeria’s payments ecosystem and adapt as transaction volumes, customer expectations, and market requirements evolve.
NIBSS Retains Control Over Architecture and Development
One of the key aspects of NIBSS’ approach is its access to the source code and customization capabilities of the Transactility technology stack.
According to the announcement, this access allows NIBSS to retain control over the National Payment Stack’s architecture, product roadmap, and operational development. It also enables the organization to retain the intellectual property it develops specifically for the platform.
Access to source code can be important for organizations responsible for operating critical payment infrastructure. It allows technical teams to inspect how software functions, adapt components to meet specific requirements, and develop additional capabilities when needed.
For NIBSS, this flexibility supports its ability to evolve the National Payment Stack as the Nigerian payments market develops. The organization can continue building on the platform and adjust its implementation in response to market needs and regulatory requirements without depending entirely on a proprietary vendor’s release schedule.
This approach also gives NIBSS greater scope to align technology development with its own priorities. Rather than limiting platform changes to predefined product updates, the organization can use its engineering capabilities and access to the underlying technology to develop the features required for its operating environment.
The ability to retain control over internally developed intellectual property is another important consideration. NIBSS designed the National Payment Stack for Nigeria’s payment ecosystem, and the company’s own capabilities form a central part of the platform. Retaining the intellectual property created for the system helps preserve the organization’s ability to continue developing that work.
Open-source and source-accessible technologies do not eliminate the need for technical expertise, security controls, system maintenance, or operational oversight. However, they can provide organizations with greater flexibility in how they manage software and plan future development.
For a national payment infrastructure operator, that flexibility can be relevant when responding to evolving transaction requirements, changing regulations, and the introduction of new payment services.
National Payment Stack Supports Multiple Digital Payment Services
The National Payment Stack is designed to support several payment capabilities used by businesses, financial institutions, merchants, and other participants in the payments ecosystem.
One of its core functions is account-to-account instant transfers. These payments enable funds to move between accounts through an electronic payment infrastructure, supporting transactions that require rapid processing.
Instant transfers are an important component of digital payments because they can reduce reliance on slower payment methods and help users move money electronically. Their usefulness depends on the capabilities of the underlying system, including transaction processing, availability, and connectivity among participating institutions.
The NPS also supports QR-based merchant payments. QR codes can provide a way for customers to initiate digital payments at participating merchants using compatible payment applications or systems. For merchants, QR-based payments can provide an additional acceptance method without requiring every transaction to rely on conventional card-based processes.
Another capability is alias-based addressing, including the use of phone numbers. Alias-based addressing can simplify the process of identifying a payment recipient by allowing users to use an associated identifier rather than relying solely on account details. Such functionality can make payment initiation more convenient, depending on how identifiers are registered, verified, and supported by the participating payment system.
The platform also supports bulk payments, which allow payment instructions to be processed for multiple recipients. This functionality can be relevant for organizations that need to distribute funds to groups of employees, suppliers, customers, or other beneficiaries.
By bringing these capabilities together within a common platform, the NPS is designed to support different payment scenarios across Nigeria’s financial ecosystem.
The platform’s modular architecture also provides a foundation for future services. As market requirements change, NIBSS can continue developing the system using its own capabilities and the flexibility offered by the underlying technology stack.
NIBSS Emphasizes Flexibility for Nigeria’s Payments Market
Premier Oiwoh, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NIBSS, said the National Payment Stack was developed to meet the scale and requirements of the Nigerian payments market.
“The NPS was designed and built for the scale and demands of the Nigerian payments market. The jPOS ecosystem gives us the flexibility to continue developing the platform as the ecosystem evolves,” Oiwoh said.
His comments highlight the importance of adaptability in the development of national payment infrastructure. Payment systems must support existing transaction requirements while allowing for future changes in technology, regulation, and customer behavior.
For NIBSS, the use of the jPOS ecosystem provides a technical foundation that can be adapted as those requirements develop. The organization’s access to the source code and its ability to customize the technology are central to this approach.
The statement also reflects the role of NIBSS’ internal engineering capabilities in developing the platform. Although Transactility technology forms part of the system, NIBSS designed and developed the National Payment Stack for its own market and operational requirements.
This distinction is important because a payment platform’s overall capabilities depend on more than the technology used for transaction switching. Architecture, integration, operational processes, risk controls, and the needs of participating institutions all contribute to how the system functions.
The NPS combines these considerations within a design intended to serve Nigeria’s payments environment while giving NIBSS room to continue developing the platform.
Transactility Highlights the Role of Open Technology
Alejandro Revilla, founder and chief technology officer of Transactility, described NIBSS’ use of the jPOS ecosystem as an important milestone for the company and the wider payments community.
“This development is an important milestone for Transactility and the wider payments community,” Revilla said. “We are proud that NIBSS selected technologies from the jPOS ecosystem for the National Payment Stack. NPS shows how open technology and local engineering can be used to build national payment infrastructure at scale.”
Revilla’s comments emphasize the combination of open technology and local development expertise in the NPS project.
Transactility’s jPOS ecosystem provides payment-processing technology that can be adapted to specific requirements. In this case, NIBSS used the technology as part of a broader architecture that includes capabilities developed by the Nigerian organization itself.
This model allows the technology provider to supply a technical foundation while the infrastructure operator maintains responsibility for its platform design and development priorities.
The announcement also illustrates how established software frameworks can be applied to large-scale payment infrastructure. Rather than treating technology as a complete, fixed product, organizations can combine existing components with their own engineering work to create systems suited to their markets.
For Transactility, NIBSS’ selection demonstrates the use of its technology within a national payment platform. For NIBSS, the partnership provides access to payment-switching capabilities that can support the continued development of its infrastructure.
A Foundation for the Continued Development of Digital Payments in Nigeria
The rollout of the National Payment Stack represents a further development in Nigeria’s digital payments infrastructure. By combining NIBSS-developed capabilities with Transactility’s jPOS and jPTS technology, the platform is designed to support instant payments and additional digital payment services within a flexible architecture.
Its support for account-to-account transfers, QR merchant payments, alias-based addressing, and bulk payments provides a range of functions for different users and payment scenarios. The incorporation of ISO 20022 messaging capabilities also reflects the platform’s focus on modern payment processing requirements.
At the same time, NIBSS’ access to the underlying source code and customization options is intended to give the organization control over the platform’s future development. This enables it to continue adapting the system to market and regulatory needs while retaining the intellectual property developed specifically for the NPS.
The partnership builds on NIBSS’ longstanding use of jPOS technology and brings an expanded role for the technology ecosystem through the new platform. Both organizations have highlighted the value of combining established software capabilities with local engineering expertise.
As Nigeria’s payments ecosystem continues to evolve, the National Payment Stack provides a technical found
Source link: https://www.businesswire.com
