Joint delegation, led by Interswitch Group CEO Mitchell Elegbe and Temenos MEA Managing Director Santhosh Rao, explores new frontiers of innovation in areas such as core banking modernization, financial crime mitigation and Central Bank Digital Currency innovation
Interswitch Group, Africa’s leading integrated digital payments and commerce company, and global banking software provider Temenos, jointly paid a courtesy visit to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) last week, in a continued demonstration of their strategic partnership to advance the modernisation of Nigeria’s financial services sector.
Background
The visit follows a strategic partnership announced by Interswitch and Temenos across Africa in June 2026, under which Interswitch will leverage Temenos solutions — spanning core banking, digital banking, payments, wealth management and financial crime mitigation — to provide cloud-hosted and on-premises managed services to banks and financial institutions across the continent. The arrangement is designed to enable institutions to progressively transform their banking platforms and evolve toward more customer-centric business models, with the service initially supporting key African markets including Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Kenya, among others.
The visit
The regulatory visit, hosted at CBN headquarters in Abuja, was led by Mitchell Elegbe, Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer of Interswitch, and Santhosh Rao, Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa (MEA) at Temenos. It forms part of ongoing efforts by both organisations to deepen collaboration with central banks across Africa on the future of digital banking infrastructure in Nigeria and other key markets on the continent.
What was discussed
Discussions centred on the strategic partnership between Interswitch and Temenos and how it will enable Nigerian financial institutions to progressively modernise their core banking platforms and transition to more customer-centric business models. The two organisations also explored opportunities to work with the CBN in charting new frontiers in Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) innovation, leveraging resilient financial networks and decentralised application platforms to support the issuance and management of CBDCs.
What’s Being Said
Mitchell Elegbe, Founder and Group CEO of Interswitch:
“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…”
Why it matters
The strategic visit underscores Interswitch and Temenos’ shared commitment to supporting regulatory bodies and financial institutions across Africa as they navigate the evolving digital finance landscape, and reaffirms both organisations’ long-standing collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria.
