Nigeria has rapidly evolved into West Africa’s digital payments leader. For engineers building fintech products, understanding this ecosystem is critical for success.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) regulates the sector, while the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) powers real-time interbank transfers through its NIP platform. Payment architectures typically integrate with issuing banks, acquiring banks, payment processors like Interswitch, Flutterwave, and Paystack, and sometimes directly with NIBSS.

Engineers must support a wide range of payment channels: bank accounts, mobile wallets (OPay, PalmPay), cards (Verve, Visa, Mastercard), USSD banking for feature phones, QR codes, and agent banking networks. With Payment Service Bank licenses, telecoms like MTN and Airtel have also entered the financial services space.
A standard payment flow involves initiation, authentication (via PINs, OTPs, or biometrics), authorization, processing, settlement, and user notification. Systems should handle messaging standards like ISO 8583 (for card transactions), ISO 20022 (emerging), SWIFT for international transfers, and REST APIs with JSON for fintech integrations.

Product development must prioritize flexible payment methods: account-to-account transfers, mobile money, USSD payments, bill payments, and QR-based merchant services. Each method has its own security and UX demands.

Emerging trends to plan for include open banking APIs, embedded finance, agency banking, eNaira integration, and cross-border payments. A modular architecture will help you stay adaptable.
Building for Nigeria also means designing for local realities: intermittent connectivity (use retries), multi-currency needs, strict KYC/AML compliance, fraud prevention tuned to local risks, and settlement delays. Your system must also manage Nigeria-specific formats like NUBAN account numbers and regulatory reporting obligations.

Foreign companies should partner with licensed local processors to navigate regulations effectively and ensure smoother integration.
Have you worked on a fintech product in Nigeria or plan to? I'd love to hear your thoughts or experiences with the payments ecosystem.
Relevant links for more detail.

https://www.cbn.gov.ng/
https://nibss-plc.com.ng/
https://interswitchgroup.com/home/