Depositors of failed banks are set to receive faster and more efficient reimbursement as the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) and the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) Plc are set to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to deepen collaboration on digital payout processes.
The NDIC Managing Director/Chief Executive, Thompson Oludare Sunday, disclosed this in Abuja during a courtesy visit by the NIBSS Executive Management team led by its Managing Director/Chief Executive, Premier Oiwoh.
Sunday said the proposed MoU would formalise the long-standing partnership between both institutions and significantly enhance NDIC’s capacity to reimburse depositors promptly in the event of bank failures.
He commended NIBSS for its critical role in strengthening depositor protection, particularly through digital verification platforms such as the Bank Verification Number (BVN), which facilitated seamless payments to depositors of the defunct Heritage Bank Limited.
According to him, the collaboration made it possible for NDIC to pay insured deposits to alternate bank accounts despite the sudden nature of the bank’s closure.
“You have been a reliable partner, and NDIC remains committed to that partnership. Without NIBSS’s support, it would have been difficult to achieve the milestone we recorded with the closure of Heritage Bank. This MoU is necessary to concretise our collaboration,” Sunday said.
He explained that the MoU would cover key areas, including real-time synchronisation of NDIC’s deposit registers and electronic records to enable swift verification of eligible accounts during bank resolution. Other focus areas include expanding disbursement channels to accommodate Mobile Money Operators (MMOs) and the possible deployment of an NDIC-branded mobile interface for deposit claims.
The NDIC boss also disclosed plans to invest in Single Customer View (SCV) and interoperability infrastructure to allow instant validation of depositors’ accounts during bank failures.
Sunday further praised NIBSS for reforms that have placed Nigeria’s payment system ahead of many global peers, adding that its role in fraud mitigation within the financial system remains commendable.
In his response, Oiwoh thanked NDIC for the sustained partnership, describing it as vital to ensuring a safe and efficient payment ecosystem in Nigeria. He reaffirmed NIBSS’s commitment to supporting NDIC’s depositor-protection mandate through robust technological infrastructure.
He stressed that prompt reimbursement of depositors during bank failures is crucial to maintaining public confidence and promoting financial inclusion, noting that NIBSS exists to serve Nigerians.
Oiwoh also disclosed that NIBSS is working closely with law enforcement agencies to further secure the nation’s payment system, while strengthening infrastructure to reduce transaction costs across its platforms.
The planned MoU is expected to usher in a more digitised, responsive and technology-driven depositor reimbursement framework, reinforcing confidence in Nigeria’s financial safety-net system.
