Designing and scaling Instant Payment Systems: Lessons from Nigeria and Ethiopia

• by Akshat Pathak, Disha Bhavnani, Brenda Oyugi, Pallavi Balakrishnan, David Matthew and Shrabasti Dhar
• May 25, 2026
• 1 min
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Instant payment systems (IPS) are expanding across Africa. In this process, they have changed how money moves between people, businesses, and governments. This paper examines the design, governance, and inclusion challenges that emerge from establishing IPSs in emerging markets and provides evidence-based recommendations for policymakers and operators to help IPSs scale.

As fast payment systems expand across Africa, they are reshaping transaction flows. Yet, instant payments also raise new questions about governance, interoperability, and financial inclusion. This white paper compares Nigeria’s established NIBSS Instant Payment system with Ethiopia’s newly launched EthioPay-IPS to show how differing design choices affect the reach and resilience of instant payment systems. In it, the authors review core program design, governance and risk management, market integration, and cross-border connectivity, and draw on transaction trends and institutional trajectories to explain why pricing, distribution, use cases, and stakeholder coordination determine how these payment systems scale.