Nigeria’s Interbank Settlement System (NIBBS) and Kenyan payments software provider Ceva Limited are lobbying President William Ruto to develop Kenya’s new Fast Payment System (FPS) and national digital ID programme, intensifying competition for one of Kenya’s most lucrative financial projects.
In a letter to Ruto seen by , Ceva Limited requested a meeting to present NIBBS as its strategic partner in building the country’s new payment infrastructure.
“We are writing to formally request a meeting with you at your earliest convenience, on either 20th or 21st March 2025,” the letter read. “ The purpose of the meeting is to introduce our partner, the Nigerian Interbank Settlement Systems (NIBBS).”
The meeting will include top executives from NIBBS and Ceva, including NIBSS CEO Premier Oiwoh, Yvonne Ige, its head of partnership, and Ceva MD Yatin Mehta. David Kiprono, the director of Webmaster—the firm behind developing Kenya’s e-Citizen—is also expected to attend.
NIBBS, owned by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and licensed banks, is Nigeria’s national switch and payment infrastructure. Ceva, founded in 2010, operates in India, Nigeria, Kenya, and Brazil and claims to process $40 billion in transactions annually.
In its letter, Ceva argued that NIBBS has the credentials and a system that can ensure seamless interoperability across different payment platforms including banks, SACCOS, mobile money operators like M-Pesa, and fintechs.
“Our robust infrastructure is developed in Africa, for Africa,” Ceva wrote in the letter. “ AfriGo is NIBBS’ answer to Africa having its card processing, driving our economic independence and efficiency. India has done it with Rupay, China has done it with UnionPay, UAE has done it with Jaywan, Brazil has done it with PIX.”
Ceva and NIBBS did not respond to requests for comments.
If successful, the deal could face a pushback from local mobile money operators like Safaricom and commercial banks who have been pushing for the Central Bank of Kenya to upgrade Pesalink.
Safaricom and KBA estimate that building a new FPS from scratch could cost $200 million and take up to four years to complete, while an upgrade to Pesalink—a system handling $8.5 billion annually—would be faster and cheaper.
While the CBK has not yet decided on the proposed FPS upgrade, there is significant lobbying from local and international firms for the lucrative contract.
