Of all the African countries in this report, Nigeria has the most developed IP scheme. Though only launched in 2011 — and considering it has a limited number of payment types and initiation methods (one for each) — IP has strong adoption in the Nigerian market compared to other electronic payment types. Growth is expected to continue well into the future.
Nigeria’s IP system is run by NIBSS Instant Payments (NIP) — an interbank account-to-account IP system that allows users to make transfers 24/7/365 via internet and mobile banking, bank branches, kiosks, mobile USSD, POS terminals and ATMs. NIP supports P2P, B2B, C2B and B2C payments and is available for both retail and corporate customers, with maximum daily transaction limits set at NGN5m ($13,752) for individuals and NGN10m ($27,504) for corporates.
NIBSS also offers E-BillsPay, an account number-based, online and real-time credit transfer service for consumers to make payments of their utility bills, government fees, penalties, airtime and subscriptions.
In 2018, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) introduced a regulation intended to ensure customer security and limit fraud within IP. The regulation stipulates that if a complaint is registered against a transaction and the charge is not reversed into the reporting customer’s account within 24 hours, the receiving or sending entity could receive a fine of NGN10,000 ($28). This demonstrates the central support that has propelled IP in Nigeria, contributing to its 57% YOY growth.