Nigeria Central Switch – Advanced real-time payments platform

From the article: “NIBSS Instant Payment is so far, the most innovative and revolutionary e-payment solution designed by NIBSS to service the banking industry. NIP is the first and only point to point funds transfer service that guarantees instant value to the beneficiary. Nigeria is the only country in Africa and essentially, the world to have deployed such a solution.”

From first hand use, the platform delivers sub 30 second Interbank transfers, serves over 180 million people across Nigeria, complete with 2-factor security, and SMS notifications to both parties. The transaction cost is N100 (USD 0.33) and it has been operational since 2011.

It makes you wonder if the $15-$30 wire transfer fees in the US is a severe case of regulatory capture.