The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) server has experienced downtime for the third time this year, leaving bank customers frustrated.
Social media is buzzing with complaints from numerous customers raising alarms about the server issues.
In February, Nairametrics first reported on screenshots circulating from banks, indicating that NIBSS, the settlement partner for all banks, was struggling to complete transfers. The message read, “NIBSS the settlement partner for all banks is having issues completing transfers at the moment.”
Again, on June 6, another report emerged that the NIBSS server had failed, causing widespread disruptions and delays in electronic transactions, affecting both financial institutions and banks.
According to tweets on X, many customers are currently unable to complete electronic transactions. Although NIBSS has not officially released a statement, public feedback suggests that its servers are indeed down.
What Nigerians are saying
Chuchu
“Considering the current situation in Nigeria, relying solely on NIBSS for all transactions could lead to frequent and random shutdowns of the platform. Using NIBSS as the exclusive payment-switching platform might not be suitable for our economy. https://x.com/Chuchu2d/status/1805224690010476709
Vughn
“They don’t rate us in this country at all. How can NIBSS be down on a Monday morning???” https://x.com/vughnn/status/1805186771874922636
Nabi
“It started last night. A client sent me money around 4am and I’m yet to receive it and that might affect my plan for the week”.
https://x.com/SingtohB/status/1805187471019274456
Retired T
“How can we start the week with NIBSS being down?? What kind of upside country, salary week for most.” https://x.com/Retired_T/status/1805189084198928605
Backstory
Electronic payment transactions in Nigeria soared to N234.4 trillion in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, as more Nigerians opted for cashless payments during this period.
According to data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), the value recorded on the Instant Payment (NIP) platform reflects an 89% increase from the N123.9 trillion recorded in Q1 2023.
Between January and March, there was a continuous rise in the volume of payment transactions executed via various banks and fintech electronic channels in the country.
The NIBSS NIP is an account-number-based, online real-time inter-bank payment solution developed in the year 2011 by NIBSS. It is the Nigerian financial industry’s preferred funds transfer platform that guarantees instant value to the beneficiary.
