Mastercard, the global payments giant, and Interswitch, a Nigerian payments infrastructure provider, have partnered to bring Google Pay to eligible Mastercard cardholders in Nigeria, allowing customers to make contactless payments using Android smartphones.<\/p>\n
The product will allow users to add supported bank cards to Google Wallet, Google\u2019s digital wallet application, and pay at compatible terminals without presenting physical cards.<\/p>\n
The integration uses Mastercard\u2019s tokenisation technology, which replaces sensitive card information with unique digital credentials to protect customer details during transactions. Interswitch provides the infrastructure connecting participating banks to the tokenisation and payment processing systems.<\/p>\n
The launch comes as Nigeria\u2019s digital payments market continues to expand. <\/p>\n
According to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), the country\u2019s payments switch, instant payment transactions grew<\/a> to \u20a6284.9 trillion ($212 billion) in the first quarter of 2025, up 21.5% from \u20a6234.5 trillion ($174.5 billion) in the previous year.<\/p>\n The growth reflects Nigeria\u2019s increasing reliance on real-time bank transfers, which have become a dominant part of the country\u2019s digital payments ecosystem.<\/p>\n Point-of-sale (PoS) infrastructure has expanded alongside digital transactions. By March 2025, Nigeria had 5.9 million deployed PoS terminals, more than double the number recorded the previous year. <\/p>\n PoS transaction values reached<\/a> \u20a610.51 trillion ($7.8 billion) in the first quarter of 2025, about four times the value recorded in the previous year.<\/p>\n Google Pay\u2019s entry introduces a different payment experience,\u00a0 enabling customers to complete supported purchases by tapping their phones rather than transferring money or using physical cards.<\/p>\n \u201cOur work has helped establish the issuer connectivity, tokenization and payment processing capabilities required to bring \u2018tap-to-pay\u2019 and wallet-based payments to Nigerian consumers,\u201d said Akeem Lawal, managing director of payment, switching and processing at Interswitch.<\/p>\n Kari Tukur, Mastercard\u2019s country manager for West Africa, said the collaboration would give eligible customers another way to pay while protecting their card details.<\/p>\n Unlike bank transfers, which require customers to enter account details or initiate payments through banking apps, Google Pay allows users to pay by holding their Android smartphones near compatible point-of-sale (PoS) terminals.\u00a0<\/p>\n The service uses near-field communication (NFC), a wireless technology that enables devices to exchange payment information over short distances.<\/p>\n Google Pay is not\u00a0 new to Nigeria\u2019s payments ecosystem. Interswitch\u00a0 previously integrated the service into its online payment gateway, enablingbusinesses to accept\u00a0 Google Pay payments.\u00a0<\/p>\n The latest rollout extends access to locally issued cards, with Google\u2019s list of supported Nigerian payment methods<\/a> now including eligible Mastercard cards issued by tier-1 banks such as FirstBank, Guaranty Trust Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), and Zenith Bank.\u00a0<\/p>\n Customers need compatible Android devices with NFC technology to make contactless payments.<\/p>\n