The system removes the need for international card networks and reduces processing costs by as much as 80%. It is already live for selected merchants.

One of the early users is a Lagos-based skincare brand founded by a Nigerian entrepreneur. In 60 days, the company recorded hundreds of transactions across its store and online channels. Out of that figure, almost half the transactions came from UK customers paying in pounds.

Between December 10, 2025 and February 8, 2026, the brand received several thousand pounds from more than a hundred unique buyers in the UK. The business also recorded steady growth in its monthly GBP collections, showing high demand from customers abroad.

The entrepreneur said the system simplified how she manages payments across markets.

“Before Nomba, I was juggling Stripe for my UK customers, a separate POS provider for my Lagos store, and a different bank account for transfers,” she said.

“Now everything is in one place. My UK customers pay in pounds from their banking app, I see it instantly, and I can manage my entire business, Lagos and London, from one dashboard. It’s changed everything for me.”

Until now, many Nigerian businesses selling to UK customers relied on card payments processed through platforms such as Stripe.

Fees typically included 2.9% plus 30p for processing, a 1.5% cross-border charge, about 2% for currency conversion and roughly 0.5% to cover chargeback risks. In total, merchants could lose between 6.4 and 7.4% on each transaction.

On £5,522 in sales, that would amount to about £353 in fees.

Under the new arrangement between Nomba and Volume, payments move through the UK’s Faster Payments system using Open Banking.

Customers select bank transfer at checkout, choose their bank and authorise the payment in their banking app using biometric verification or a PIN. There are no card details involved and no chargebacks once payment is approved.

At roughly 1% processing cost, a brand would have paid about £55 on the same £5,522 volume. That means savings of around £298 in two months.

Nomba’s chief executive said the partnership aligns with the company’s goal.

“We built Nomba to give African businesses world-class financial infrastructure. When a customer can run her entire business, POS in Lagos, GBP collections from London, business banking, all of it, from a single platform, that’s the vision coming to life.

“Partnering with Volume to enable direct GBP bank collections means our merchants no longer lose 6–7% of their revenue just because their customers are in a different country.”

A senior executive at Volume added: “Volume’s mission is to make bank payments the default way to pay online. Seeing a Lagos-based beauty entrepreneur collect payments directly from UK bank accounts, with zero chargebacks and a fraction of the cost, is a powerful demonstration of Open Banking’s potential to reshape cross-border commerce.”

The United Kingdom hosts more than 1.5 million people of Nigerian descent. Many run businesses or buy products across both markets. For small brands, fees on cross-border card payments can limit growth.

With this integration with Volume, merchants can receive pounds directly into their Nomba GBP accounts, hold, convert or pay out the funds from the same dashboard used for their Nigerian operations.

For brands, it means one system for Lagos and one for London no longer applies. Everything now sits in one place.

Some customers pay instantly. Others pay after reminders. Too many pay long after you have covered the cost of delivery. That gap between earned revenue and received cash is where small businesses suffocate.

This is not a side story. MSMEs account for the overwhelming share of Nigerian businesses and a very large share of employment and GDP.

When late payments lock up working capital, owners borrow to meet payroll, push back inventory purchases, and miss opportunities because cash is trapped in limbo.

For a school proprietor that might mean delaying teacher salaries or postponing repairs. For a clinic it might mean stretching medicine stock. For a co-op it slows the lending cycle that members depend on.

The national payments landscape shows a different picture. Nigerians have embraced digital rails for everyday value exchange.

Instant transfers and other e-payment instruments now carry large volumes each year. Card acceptance is wider, bank apps are better, and many merchants already take digital payments. Willingness and tools exist.

The problem for recurring obligations is not whether customers can pay. The problem is whether they do so on time and without constant human follow up.

Recurring payments often behave like yesterday. An invoice goes out, a WhatsApp reminder follows, then a second and a third. Parents promise to transfer fees next week.

Members say they will renew dues when they get paid. Owners carry the administrative load and the emotional burden.

It is fragile by design because memory fails and monthly liquidity swings. Teams spend hours babysitting receivables instead of serving customers.

Nigeria already has the plumbing to make recurring payments act differently. Under the Central Bank framework and NIBSS infrastructure, a customer can give consent for a defined amount and a defined schedule.

With a direct debit mandate in place, the system moves funds on due dates and records a clear trail.

The rules require consent, auditability, reminders, and recourse. The rails are not new. They are simply under-used by many consumer-facing SMEs.

Move fee collection or dues from chase to consent and the picture changes. Parents approve once, then pay in predictable instalments. Co-op members stay current without monthly nudges.

Businesses gain a rhythm that matches payroll and supplier cycles. Reminders do not disappear, they shift to helpful notifications before each debit.

Administration shrinks. Relationships improve because owners stop playing debt collector and return to the role customers value them for.

If the rails exist, why is adoption uneven? Three reasons recur in field conversations. First, onboarding can feel complex if mandate screens are clunky or unfamiliar. Second, trust requires transparency.

People want clear pre-debit alerts and easy pause or cancel options. Third, operators need tools that plug into everyday workflows.

Reconciliation should be automatic. Notifications should be instant. Staff should not need a separate spreadsheet to keep up.

That is the gap we have focused on at OnePipe. We built PaywithAccount to help schools and similar SMEs set up those consents cleanly and collect on schedule through Nigeria’s regulated direct debit system.

The idea is simple. Customers grant permission in plain language. On due dates, funds move from bank accounts to the business account through the trusted rails many Nigerians already use for transfers.

For the operator, the benefits are practical. Cash becomes predictable. Admin becomes lighter. Reconciliation becomes faster. For the customer, control and clarity remain in place.

None of this suggests that late payments will vanish overnight. It does suggest that a country which has already shifted a huge share of commerce to digital can move a bigger share of recurring obligations from manual to mandated.

The change starts with design. Pick a pilot segment such as returning families who already pay in parts. Offer instalments with clear reminders and a visible stop switch.

Measure days sales outstanding before and after one term. Share results with parents and stakeholders. Scale steadily.

There is also a role for associations and ecosystem players. School owner groups and co-ops can issue model templates that standardise consent language.

Banks and processors can keep smoothing mandate user experience and dispute handling. Media can highlight practices that keep children in class and keep small businesses solvent.

Policymakers can amplify the message that on time payment is not only a private matter. It protects jobs, keeps services stable, and reduces friction across the local economy.

Predictable revenue is oxygen. When it flows on time, owners plan. When owners plan, teams perform. When teams perform, communities thrive. That is a change worth making this term.

Businesses that control search rankings control market share. It’s that simple.

Traditional SEO is fading off. Keywords, backlinks, and outdated ranking tricks no longer guarantee visibility. AI has changed the rules, but most businesses are still playing by old rules. 

This is beyond a common upgrade, we can call it a disruption.

AI-powered SEO means search engines are no longer just reacting; they’re predicting. They analyse behaviour, context, and intent—before users even type a query. 

Businesses in Nigeria that fail to understand this change will be left behind, buried under pages of irrelevant search results. The question isn’t whether AI-powered SEO is necessary; we should focus on whether businesses in the country are ready for the fight.

AI Taking Over the Old SEO Methods

Let’s get one thing straight: Google is no longer just a search engine. It’s an AI-driven system. The transition happened quietly, but it was brutal.

• Before AI: Search engines relied on human-fed algorithms. You could manipulate rankings with keyword stuffing and backlinks.
• After AI: Google’s RankBrain, BERT, and MUM now understand search intent. They learn. They evolve. They push aside outdated SEO tactics.

Think of it this way: AI-powered SEO is no longer about what you tell Google. It’s about what Google understands from user behaviour. It predicts what people want, sometimes before they even know it themselves.

For Nigerian businesses, this means survival depends on adapting to AI’s logic—not fighting it.

Why AI SEO Matters Now

Digital Presence is Non-Negotiable; With over 134 million Nigerians online, as revealed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), we can see that digital visibility is becoming more indispensable. If your business doesn’t show up on the first page of Google, it might as well not exist.

AI Goes Beyond Just Keywords, Engagements are Now Priotised; Google now prioritises user experience—are visitors staying on your page or leaving instantly? Content relevance—is your content answering real questions, or is it fluff? Lastly, authority—are other sites referencing your business?

Content is King, But AI is the Kingmaker; AI-powered tools can predict viral topics, optimise headlines, and even generate content. Businesses that utilise this will take the lead. Those who ignore will fade into obscurity.

Winners and Failing Businesses: Who Will AI SEO Benefit?

Let’s be real—AI-powered SEO isn’t a gift to everyone but a filter, and it’s ruthless.

Winners

Big corporations: They can afford high-end AI tools, data analytics, and top-tier SEO experts.
Tech-savvy businesses: Those who invest in AI-powered content and marketing strategies will stay ahead.
Agile startups: Companies that take up AI early can outrank slow-moving competitors.

Left-behinds

Small businesses without AI knowledge: They’ll struggle to compete with AI-optimised competitors.
Businesses relying on outdated SEO tricks: Keyword stuffing, link farms, and other hacks are now stretching but not reaching.
Companies that ignore user experience: If your website loads slowly or has bad content, AI will bury you.

This isn’t to make businesses scared. It’s to wake you up to catch-up.

The Challenge in Nigeria: Can We Keep Up?

Businesses need to keep learning and unlearning; Most businesses still rely on basic SEO knowledge, and many digital marketers haven’t updated their skills. AI literacy has become a survival, not a luxury anymore.

Limited access to AI tools; Many AI-powered SEO tools are expensive. Businesses need affordable, localised alternatives.

The visibility problem; AI-driven search favours content with global relevance. Will local businesses be drowned out by international companies? If so, how do we get back to the limelight?

Winning the AI SEO Challenge is a Strategy for Nigerian Businesses

Use AI Tools That Don’t Break the Bank; You don’t need a Google-sized budget to compete. Affordable AI-powered SEO tools include:

• Ubersuggest: for keyword research and analytics
• SurferSEO: for AI-driven content optimisation
• Rank Math: for AI-powered WordPress SEO

Prioritise User Experience;

• Fast-loading websites win.
• Engaging content beats keyword-stuffed pages.
• Mobile optimisation is non-negotiable.

Train and Upskill Now; The AI revolution won’t wait. Businesses must train their teams in AI-driven digital marketing now, or risk being left behind.

Push for Local AI Solutions; Tech hubs, investors, and policymakers should focus on developing AI-powered SEO tools for the Nigerian market. We can’t afford to be passive consumers.

So, Adapt or Disappear

AI-powered SEO is just the beginning. The next phase includes Voice search. Visual search. Hyper-personalisation.

Search engines will soon predict what users need before they even search. Businesses in Nigeria need to prepare for a Voice search takeover—Google Assistant, Siri, Alexa; AI-curated search results that prioritise engagement over manual optimisation and AI-generated content competing with human-created articles.

The bottom line? AI won’t kill SEO. But it will kill businesses that refuse to adapt.

This is a fight for relevance and businesses that understand AI-powered SEO will thrive. Those that ignore it will vanish.

Rather than focusing on: “Should we use AI for SEO?” The real thoughts should be: “How fast can we adapt before it’s too late?”

Involving the movement of goods and services across national boundaries, it facilitates globalisation. As a vital part of a nation’s economic activity, international trade also improves a nation’s economic scale as well as its gross domestic product (GDP).

Being able to trade on an international level allows nations to obtain products they cannot produce on their own, thus improving the macroeconomic status of the country.

Despite the benefits of international trade, several barriers exist that hinder trade between countries.

A few of them include linguistic and communication difficulties, unfavorable terms of trade, international liquidity problems, import and export restrictions, amongst others.

These challenges have continued to mitigate the economic development of underdeveloped and developing countries.

For Nigerian businesses, these challenges are highly problematic, as they encounter regulatory barriers, currency, and logistic concerns, thus limiting their negotiating power and hindering economic development.

Furthermore, communication difficulties have made international trade cumbersome.

A good example is the trade relationship of Nigeria and China, one of Nigeria’s closest trade partners.

Relations between Nigeria and China have expanded on growing bilateral trade and strategic cooperation but have not been fully optimised.

China is also considered as one of Nigeria’s important trading and export partner.

Regardless, communication barriers, trade deficits and restrictions have hampered trade and hindered opportunities that could be harnessed between the two nations.

To mitigate the impact of these barriers, Stanbic IBTC Bank, a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC recently held an African Trade Expo, focused on providing solutions to these issues. Themed: Synergy for Growth, the expo featured a panel session and a masterclass.

The masterclass, featuring Seun Ogundolapo, Head, Trade, Transactional Products and Services, Stanbic IBTC Bank centered on the opportunities to be harnessed in Nigeria’s untapped non-oil exports and solutions that ease trade, offered by Stanbic IBTC.

Analysis from the masterclass revealed that total trade between Nigeria and Asia in 2020 amounted to ₦14.12 trillion ($37.15 billion), while the total import trade resulted in ₦9.81trillion ($25.81billion). Export Trade stood at ₦4.31 trillion ($11.34 billion) and trade balance is ₦5.50 trillion ($14.48 billion).

The session also addressed the opportunities in the agro-allied and agricultural sectors, with the facilitator speaking about agricultural produce and the export potential Nigeria has.

“Nigeria has an arable land area of 34 million hectares: 6.5 million hectares for permanent crops, and 28.6 million hectares on meadows and pastures. Agriculture accounts for about 24 percent of Nigeria’s GDP and is key in driving Nigeria’s development,” Seun said.

“From the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data, apart from aluminum alloy and urea, market results have shown that most Nigerian exports to China and other parts of the world in 2021 remained raw, unprocessed products like crude oil, cocoa, and sesame seeds.”

“Lack of value addition to the nation’s agricultural products has resulted to significant losses in earnings accountable to the country over the years. Agriculture is a worthwhile investment that could generate higher returns, allow penetration of a new, potentially high-value market, and create employment.”

According to Seun, “Stanbic IBTC offers the Africa China Trade Solutions (ACTS). We connect individuals to a Chinese trade agent to negotiate the best prices and trade conditions for our clients. Dedicated translators are available to facilitate trade discussions where required. Our Chinese trade agent connects businesses to the right suppliers, and we make exports seamless.”

During the masterclass, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) RT200 FX policy was addressed. Seun remarked that the road to the $200 billion policy promises to be a great strategy to shore up the nation’s exchange rate and boost the foreign exchange reserves.

Associated with Nigeria’s international trade relations is access to finance and credit. Leveraging on its global network, the Stanbic IBTC Africa China Expo 2022 showcased the financial services structured payment system as well as providing access to an array of credit system to African importers.

He said: “The RT200 is a non-oil exports proceeds repatriation scheme that is part of the apex bank’s effort to reduce exposure to volatile sources of FX and to earn more stable and sustainable inflows of FX into the country. With the increasing call for alternative source of government’s revenue from oil, we are at the forefront of advocating Nigeria’s diversification from crude oil to the non-oil sectors.”

As Nigeria continues to seek increased synergy with its international trade partners, such as China, for economic growth and development, the Stanbic IBTC Africa China Expo 2022 remains a verifiable avenue for enhancing trade synergy.