On September 16, 2026, a senior delegation from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) visited MuRong’s Beijing headquarters, where the two organisations signed a new strategic partnership agreement.

Established in 1993 and jointly owned by all licensed banks in Nigeria and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), NIBSS is mandated to operate the national electronic payments network, provide interbank clearing and settlement services, and advance the modernization of Nigeria’s payment system.

Over the years, MuRong has consistently provided core system infrastructure to NIBSS, supporting the establishment of the National Card Interbank Information Exchange Centre and underpinning the launch of AfriGO, the CBN-led domestic card scheme and the first of its kind in Africa. The Centre provides efficient information routing and reconciliation services, alongside a broad portfolio of payment products for banks and non-bank financial institutions, supporting the adoption and development of digital payments across Nigeria.

From its first card issuance in January 2023 through 2025, AfriGO issued more than one million cards cumulatively, with annual transaction value exceeding ₦700 billion.

This agreement marks a new chapter for NIBSS as it evolves from a national payments’ infrastructure operator into a national financial services platform. Three priorities will guide this expansion.

· Payment innovation

NIBSS will extend its reach through digital channels and open APIs, bringing basic financial services to underserved communities and MSMEs at lower cost.

· Artificial intelligence

To support these services, MuRong will build an agentic payments architecture on MuRong DCSS (Domestic Card Scheme System) and MuRong CMS (Card Management System), covering payment use cases, institutions, transactions and compliance.

· BaaS (Banking as a Service) enablement

Alongside these capabilities, NIBSS will move from providing individual interfaces to operating a shared financial services platform. Banks, non-bank financial institutions and fintechs will directly access NIBSS’s centralized account, deposit, lending and payment capabilities without building their own systems, supporting more efficient delivery and better service quality.

MuRong will support these priorities through continued investment in core technology and local implementation services, working with NIBSS to deliver products tailored to Nigeria’s needs and advance the country’s financial services sector.