How Nium and Ecobank Forged African Payments Partnership

Nium, a global fintech company founded in 2014, has partnered with Ecobank to introduce real-time payment capabilities across 35 African markets. 

The partnership will serve Ecobank's 32 million customers through an integration with Nium's global payments network.

The collaboration connects Ecobank's existing SWIFT messaging system to Nium's payment rails, enabling real-time settlement and tracking without requiring application programming interface (API) integration. SWIFT is the primary messaging network banks use for secure international payments.

Founded by Prajit Nanu, Nium has grown to become a significant player in cross-border payments. 

The company holds regulatory licenses in 40 countries, including being the first global fintech to secure a Type 1 Funds Transfer License from Japan's Financial Service Agency.

Technical Integration

The technical implementation allows Ecobank to maintain its current SWIFT MT and ISO20022 message formats while accessing Nium's real-time payment capabilities. ISO20022 is a global standard for payment messaging between financial institutions.

Ecobank customers will gain access to payments in more than 220 markets globally, with real-time settlement available in 100 countries. 

The infrastructure supports 100 currencies, with collection services in 40 markets and card issuance capabilities in 34 countries.

“We are thrilled to partner with Ecobank and introduce Nium's cutting-edge real-time payment capabilities to Africa,” says Anupam Pahuja, General Manager and Executive Vice President for APAC, Middle East and Africa at Nium. “This collaboration represents an important step forward in expanding our global payments network.”

Market Impact

The partnership targets small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across sub-Saharan Africa. Ecobank, which operates as a regional financial services group, will use Nium's infrastructure to enhance its payment services for business customers.

Nium maintains offices in major financial hubs with over 750 employees globally. The company is co-headquartered in San Francisco and Singapore.

“Partnering with Nium allows us to enhance our service offerings and provide our customers with faster, more efficient cross-border payment solutions,” says Jeremy Awori, CEO of Ecobank Group. 

“By leveraging our unique API-based payment platform, this collaboration is a significant step towards advancing financial inclusion and connectivity across Africa and enabling businesses to thrive in a global marketplace.”

Nium: Expanded reach globally 

Nium’s ability to expand its partnerships in areas such as Africa follows its integration of Swfit connectivity, which now enables financial institutions to access its payments network without requiring API integration.

Financial institutions partnered with Nium can maintain payment tracking through Swift's GPI (Global Payments Innovation) tracker, which provides end-to-end visibility on cross-border payments. Nium updates the tracker as transactions progress through its system.

Nium reports that more than 80% of payments processed through its infrastructure settle within 15 minutes. Recipients receive the full payment amount without deductions, through what Nium terms ‘zero-deduction flows’.

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