The company facilitated 100 million transactions, with an average value of ₦10,000 per transaction. Despite the limited adoption of blockchain technology in banking, the majority of these transactions were executed through automated teller machines (ATMs), marking a pioneering achievement for blockchain-powered payments in Nigeria.
This accomplishment is particularly notable given the declining use of ATMs. Over the past three years, ATM transaction values have dropped from ₦32.65 trillion in 2022 to ₦28.2 trillion in 2023, as consumers increasingly favor Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals and digital payment methods. Currently, twelve banks utilize Zone’s blockchain network, though only a handful leverage it for ATM transactions.
Obi Emetarom, Zone’s CEO and co-founder, remarked, “If there was wider adoption of ATMs, reaching ₦1 trillion in transactions would have been faster. We used the ATM as a pilot to introduce something new. We didn’t want to overload our system with heavy transactions initially, so we chose a manageable transaction type to build a credible system.”
While Zone’s network enables faster settlement rates for ATM transactions, some banks are primarily interested in ZonePoS, the company’s solution for processing POS payments on the blockchain.
After securing a switching license in 2022, Zone initiated a test phase for its blockchain network on ATMs in November of that year. The initial challenge was onboarding banks and assuring regulators that the network could operate in compliance with regulations, automating processes that were traditionally subject to manual audits. The successful pilot in late 2022 paved the way for the company’s commercial launch in January 2023. Since then, Zone has collaborated closely with banks.
Emetarom explained, “The real issue for traditional financial institutions is the fear of non-compliance with existing blockchains and DeFi solutions. They don’t want to risk fines or losing their licenses.”
Zone’s Layer-1 blockchain boasts a capacity of 10,000 transactions per second (TPS) “right out of the box.” Building on the success of its ATM integration and the growing popularity of POS transactions, Zone expanded its blockchain network to include terminal payments.
In June 2024, Zone extended its blockchain network to POS terminals, and by August, it had partnered with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS), the country’s payment switch, to record POS transactions on its blockchain ledger. This collaboration allows NIBSS to manage interactions between cardholders’ banks and POS terminals using Zone’s regulated blockchain.
The partnership was initially set to launch in October 2024, with NIBSS fully integrated into Zone’s blockchain ecosystem, marking the first time a major regulator would operate at such scale within a blockchain framework. However, the integration faced delays due to NIBSS’s institutional processes and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) unclear stance. Although the agreement with NIBSS was reached in August 2024, CBN approval was only granted in December.
Emetarom noted, “NIBSS, being a regulated entity, operates within a strict institutional framework. There are rigorous processes to ensure everything aligns with their project cycle.”
Zone has added NIBSS to a testnet on its blockchain and is currently testing the network to ensure data integrity. The company is also preparing the live environment for NIBSS to perform its Payment Terminal Service Aggregator (PTSA) function. For now, Zone is collecting and storing POS terminal identities on its network. While it is not yet fully operational for storing payment records, a handshake with NIBSS allows it to verify terminal IDs on the blockchain.
The rollout of Zone’s blockchain for POS payments is being approached cautiously to maintain regulatory trust. Emetarom is optimistic about exporting Zone’s technology beyond Nigeria in the coming years, though no formal discussions with foreign financial institutions have taken place yet.
The startup has not disclosed its revenue figures, citing a “confidentiality clause” from its investors.
Looking ahead, Zone plans to extend its blockchain payment rail to businesses offering account-to-account fund transfers, bringing its innovative technology closer to everyday Nigerians.