Interswitch Group and global banking software provider Temenos have reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the modernisation of Nigeria’s financial services industry, with both companies seeking deeper collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the future of digital banking infrastructure.
The commitment was reinforced during a recent regulatory engagement at the CBN headquarters in Abuja, where senior executives from both organisations discussed the evolving needs of Nigeria’s financial sector and opportunities to accelerate the adoption of modern banking technologies.
The meeting was led by Interswitch Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer, Mitchell Elegbe, and Temenos Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa (MEA), Santhosh Rao.
The engagement forms part of broader efforts by Interswitch and Temenos to deepen their collaboration with central banks across Africa as financial institutions increasingly seek to modernise legacy infrastructure, improve digital experiences and build more agile banking models.
In June, Interswitch and Temenos announced a strategic partnership aimed at providing financial institutions across Africa with access to modern banking technology through cloud-hosted and on-premises managed services.
Under the partnership, Interswitch will leverage Temenos solutions spanning core banking, digital banking, payments, wealth management and financial crime mitigation to support banks and other financial institutions across the continent.
The initiative is expected to enable financial institutions to progressively transform their banking platforms while moving towards more customer-centric operating models.
The initial markets targeted under the arrangement include Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Kenya, alongside other key African markets.
At the Abuja meeting, discussions focused particularly on how the partnership could help Nigerian financial institutions upgrade their core banking infrastructure and respond more effectively to changing customer expectations.
The collaboration comes at a time when financial institutions across Africa are under increasing pressure to deliver seamless digital services while maintaining resilient infrastructure, strengthening security and complying with evolving regulatory requirements.
Beyond conventional banking transformation, Interswitch and Temenos also explored potential areas of collaboration with the CBN around Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) innovation.
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| L-R: Wakilat Sanusi Olanrewaju, Deputy Director, Information Technology, CBN; Santhosh Rao, MD for Middle East & Africa, Temenos; Omoyemen Jide-Samuel, Director Information Technology, CBN; Mitchell Elegbe, Group CEO, Interswitch and Houssam Chaker, Sales Director, Temenos during the Interswitch-Temenos Joint Courtesy Visit to the CBN Headquarters in Abuja recently. |
For Interswitch, the engagement underscores the importance of collaboration between technology providers, financial institutions and regulators in shaping the continent’s next generation of financial infrastructure.
Commenting on the visit, Elegbe said:
“Our partnership as Interswitch with Temenos and our continued engagement with the Central Bank of Nigeria reflect a shared commitment to building banking infrastructure that is resilient, inclusive, and ready for the next phase of Africa’s financial evolution.
We are proud to be at the table as these conversations shape the future of digital banking technology and innovation across key Africa markets…”
The partnership between the two companies is expected to combine Temenos’ banking technology capabilities with Interswitch’s established payments and financial technology footprint across Africa.
For financial institutions, the broader objective is to create a pathway towards modern banking platforms capable of supporting increasingly digital customer journeys, faster innovation and evolving financial products.
The engagement with the CBN also highlights the growing role of regulatory collaboration in determining how emerging technologies are deployed within Africa’s financial ecosystem.
As banks and financial institutions continue to move away from legacy systems, partnerships such as the Interswitch-Temenos initiative could play an important role in helping institutions modernise their technology stacks while maintaining the resilience, security and regulatory standards required within the financial sector.
With Nigeria serving as one of Africa’s largest and most dynamic financial markets, the companies' continued engagement with the CBN is expected to contribute to wider conversations about the future of digital banking, payments infrastructure and financial technology across the continent.