The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced an extension to the enforcement of Point-of-Sale terminal geo-fencing to August 1, 2026.
This gives financial institutions and payment service providers more time to comply with the regulatory requirement aimed at strengthening oversight of electronic payment channels.
The directive was contained in a circular dated May 29, 2026, and obtained from the CBN’s website on Friday.
The circular was signed by the Director of the Payments System Supervision Department, Dr Rakiya Yusuf.
Addressed to Deposit Money Banks, Microfinance Banks, Mobile Money Operators, Switching and Processing Companies, Payment Terminal Service Providers, Payment Solution Service Providers, Super Agents, and other licensed operators in the Nigerian payments ecosystem, the circular announced a revision to the policy’s implementation timeline.
The CBN stated that the decision followed engagements with stakeholders and considerations arising from the operationalisation of an earlier circular issued on August 25, 2025, which covered migration to ISO 20022 standards for payments messaging and the mandatory geo-tagging of payment terminals.
In August 2025, the CBN directed that all PoS terminals in the country be geo-tagged within 60 days as part of measures to curb fraud and strengthen oversight of digital payments.
