Nigeria’s financial system is getting a major upgrade as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) begins migrating from the decades-old ISO 8583 messaging format to the modern ISO 20022 standard. It’s the most significant change to the country’s digital payments system in years.
The move is designed to improve efficiency, transparency, and innovation across banks, fintechs, and payment providers. It also brings Nigeria in line with other major economies such as the EU, UK, and the United States.
Akeem Lawal, Managing Director for Payment Processing and Switching (Purepay) at Interswitch, said the shift was “long overdue.”
“The Central Bank announced the migration from ISO 8583. It was built in 1987,” Lawal said during Moonshot by TechCabal in Lagos. “The technology standard we’ve used for the last 20 years was built in 1987. It’s time to modernize.”
He said the new ISO 20022 framework will support both card and non-card transactions. “The new standard creates a platform that allows us to build digital economies. We have put that infrastructure in place,” he added.
ISO 8583 has powered global payments for decades but has become outdated. Today’s systems rely on real-time transfers, digital wallets, and richer transaction data. ISO 20022 replaces the old structure with XML-based messaging, allowing more detailed information, better fraud detection, and improved compliance.
To help smaller banks and fintechs make the switch, Interswitch has built a “translation hub.” The middleware lets older systems connect directly to ISO 20022.
“We know not every player can make big investments right away,” Lawal said. “Our translation hub converts transactions automatically into the new format.”
The migration is expected to be completed by the end of October. Lawal said the change would strengthen Nigeria’s payments infrastructure and enable faster innovation in real-time settlements and digital commerce.
“Nigeria is already among the top three countries in the world for real-time payments,” he said. “To keep growing, we must modernize the technology we depend on.”
