Building the Future of Payments, One Conversation at a Time.
Nigeria’s payment journey has been marked by steady innovation. From apps to portals to APIs, each step has strengthened the country’s digital economy. Millions of transactions today depend on these systems, shaping how people and businesses interact with money every day.
Now, we are ready to take the next leap. A new frontier is emerging where payments no longer live only on screens, they live in conversations.
Imagine this: in just one weekend, a small team of developers in Lagos built a complete AI-powered payment assistant. Their users can pay PHCN bills, buy airtime, and settle government fees simply by talking to the app. No forms. No navigation. Just conversation. This is not a demo, it is live, serving real people, and proving what is possible.
This is the Remita Connect philosophy: moving from building payment UIs to building payment conversations.
For years, we refined interfaces, forms, and APIs, making payments faster and more reliable. Every iteration prepared the ground for what comes next. Today, that next step is here, powered by conversational AI and enabled by the Remita Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server.
What is an MCP Server?
An MCP Server (Model Context Protocol server) is a program that provides contexts to large language models in the form of tools, prompts, and resources. Instead of an AI making assumptions, it calls the MCP Server to get accurate, real-time results. Think of it as a central connector that links external services directly to AI systems.
The Technical Reality: Easier Than You Think
Here is what used to take weeks of API wrangling:
- Complex UI flows
- Multiple API calls
- Error handling nightmares
Now, with MCP, this is literally all you need:
Example conversation:
- “Pay my PHCN bill.”
- “Top up ₦2,000 data on my Airtel line.”
Behind the scenes, the Remita MCP Server handles it all: bill lookup, amount verification, payment processing, and receipt generation. Secure, instant, and conversational.
The Infrastructure You Need is Already Built
For businesses and merchants building AI-powered solutions in Nigeria, the Remita MCP Server provides ready-to-use infrastructure with production-grade reliability.
What Remita MCP offers out of the box:
- Complete telecom coverage: MTN, GLO, Airtel, 9Mobile airtime and data
- All Nigerian DISCOs: unified interface for every electricity provider
- Government payments: RRR processing for taxes, fees, and licenses
- Receipt management: automatic generation, resending, and tracking
- Error handling: enterprise-grade monitoring and resilience
Real conversation flows your users can have today:
- “Buy ₦1000 airtime for MTN number 08123456789.”
- “Purchase 1GB data bundle for my Airtel line.”
- “Pay my electricity bill for meter number 12345678901.”
- “I want to pay this RRR 1234-6784-9398.”
- “Help me resend my Remita receipt.”
Start Building in the Next 10 Minutes
For AI engineers, the Remita MCP Server provides a unified platform to execute financial services such as airtime purchases, data top-ups, electricity payments, RRR processing, and receipt resending.
Integration is simple, especially with Claude Desktop:
In claude_desktop_config.json, add:
Download Claude Desktop and install it.
Ensure Node.js version 22 or higher is installed.
Open Claude Desktop and go to Settings > Developer > Edit Config.
“mcpServers”: {
"remita-mcp": {
“command”: “npx”,
"args": ["mcp-remote", "https://mcp.remita.net/mcp"]
}
}
Save the configuration, and Claude Desktop will connect directly to the Remita MCP Server. From there, engineers can build financial workflows seamlessly inside their AI tools.
Why It Matters for Nigeria’s Fintech Ecosystem
Earlier this year, Remita published Unlocking the Power of AI in Nigeria’s Fintech Sector, which revealed:
- API integration time reduced by 50 percent through its Developer Assistant.
- Customer experience improved by 40 percent with its Payment Assistant.
- Market potential for AI-powered fintech projected at 434.4 million dollars by 2026, growing at 40 percent annually.
- 67 percent of Nigerian users prefer conversational interfaces for routine payments.
This points to massive market growth, shifting user expectations, and an urgent opportunity for builders. Globally, MCP is becoming a standard for connecting AI systems with the real world. Localizing it for Nigeria positions Remita at the forefront of intelligent, AI-powered payments.
This Changes How You Think About Payments
Stop building payment interfaces. Start building payment conversations.
Your users should not have to learn your app. Your app should understand your users.
The developers building with MCP today are not just ahead of the curve. They are creating it.
Why This is Your Advantage
The window is open, but it will not stay open for long. While others are still experimenting with AI integration, you can ship production-ready conversational payment experiences today. First movers in every major shift capture the most value.
Proven impact from early adopters:
- API integration time: cut from weeks to 30 minutes (98 percent reduction)
- User completion rates: improved by 85 percent
- Support ticket volume: reduced by 70 percent
- Development velocity: 10x faster shipping
With MCP, research is becoming reality. Infrastructure is already here. The opportunity is now.
The Future is Conversational, and It Is Available Today
This is not about building for someday. The infrastructure exists. The users are ready. The competitive advantage is real.
Early adopters of MCP are not just improving payments. They are redefining what payment apps can be: smarter, faster, and more human.
Your Next Move
Want to see how the Remita MCP can elevate your financial operations? Join the builders already shipping the future:
- Technical docs and examples: www.remita.net
- Direct engineering support: [email protected]
- Developer community: Join 500 plus builders already experimenting with MCP
The question is not whether conversational payments will dominate Nigeria’s fintech. The question is whether you will be building them or competing against them.
Start building today. The future does not wait.
