Nigerian Central Bank Affiliate Partners With Blockchain Startup Zone to Boost Payments

The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) has partnered with Zone, a decentralized payment infrastructure company, to improve its payment services. NIBSS will use Zone’s blockchain technology to streamline its Payment Terminal Service Aggregation (PTSA) operations. Both NIBSS and Zone believe that blockchain technology can revolutionize the financial sector and enhance regulatory oversight.

NIBSS Enhances Payment System with Blockchain Technology

The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) has joined a decentralized payment network operated by Zone, a payment infrastructure company. The partnership will see NIBSS leverage Zone’s blockchain network to enhance its Payment Terminal Service Aggregation (PTSA) operations.

According to a statement, this collaboration ensures the functions of NIBSS, an entity owned by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), comply with Nigeria’s payment standards. By adopting a blockchain-based solution, NIBSS will eliminate the existing central failure point in transaction routing. This will be done without undermining the regulatory monitoring and reporting capabilities required by the CBN guideline on PTA.

Commenting on the collaboration announcement, Premier Oiwoh, CEO of NIBSS, said:

These partnerships and collaborations with key industry players represent a significant milestone in our mission to drive innovation and enhance the efficiency of the payment system. The strategic alliances will revolutionize the ecosystem, offering improved operational efficiency, cost savings and enhanced financial inclusion, ultimately positioning Nigeria at the forefront of the global payment space.

Obi Emetarom, CEO and Co-founder of Zone, described the collaboration as a testament to the transformative power of blockchain technology not just in payments but the financial sector as a whole. He also suggested that the technology can be useful in enhancing regulatory oversight functions while “simultaneously streamlining operations for service providers.”

As explained in the statement, Zone’s blockchain network enables decentralized routing, which facilitates the direct exchange of financial messages between participating banks without an intermediary. The collaboration not only highlights the potential for blockchain to gain regulator buy-in but also enhance regulatory functions and achieve mainstream adoption on a global scale.

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