CBN units October 31 deadline for Cost firms to adjust to ISO 20022

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a recent directive mandating all individuals within the nation’s fee ecosystem to finish migration to the ISO 20022 messaging commonplace and implement necessary geo-tagging of fee terminals by October 31, 2025.

In a round revealed on its official web site on Tuesday, the apex bank reminded Deposit Cash Banks (DMBs), Microfinance Banks (MFBs), Cellular Cash Operators (MMOs), Switching and Processing Corporations, Cost Terminal Service Suppliers (PTSPs), Cost Answer Service Suppliers (PSSPs), Tremendous Brokers, and different licensed operators that ISO 20022 is now the worldwide benchmark for funds messaging.

The round was signed by Dr Rakiya O. Yusuf, Director of the Funds System Supervision Division on the CBN and dated August 25, 2025.

In line with the doc, the transfer aligns with SWIFT’s world migration timeline and is meant to standardise high quality knowledge throughout Nigeria’s monetary system.

“All fee transaction messages exchanged domestically or internationally have to be formatted in ISO 20022 in step with CBN and SWIFT specs,” the round famous. 

Establishments are additionally required to make sure correct inhabitants of necessary knowledge components, together with payer and payee identifiers, service provider and agent identifiers, and transaction metadata.

The CBN burdened that compliance with these necessities is just not non-obligatory, warning that each one in-scope establishments should full migration actions and obtain full compliance earlier than the October 31 deadline.

Necessary geo-tagging of terminals 

Past messaging requirements, the round additionally introduces necessary geo-tagging of fee terminals to boost oversight and curb fraud within the digital funds area.

All current and newly deployed fee terminals are required to have native geolocation providers enabled, supported by double-frequency GPS receivers. Terminals should even be registered with a Cost Terminal Service Aggregator (PTSA) with exact latitude and longitude coordinates tied to service provider enterprise places.

Additionally, the CBN mandated that Android OS model 10 is now the minimal software program requirement for all terminals to make sure compatibility with the Nationwide Central Change’s geolocation monitoring system.

Terminals indirectly routed by means of a PTSA is not going to be permitted to transact, whereas geo-location knowledge is to be captured on the level of transaction and included within the message payload as a compulsory reporting subject.

“All current terminals have to be geo-tagged inside 60 days of this round; new terminals going ahead have to be geo-tagged earlier than certification and activation,” the CBN said. 

Additionally, the regulator introduced that compliance validation workouts will start from October 20, 2025.

The round emphasised that these reforms are aimed toward strengthening Nigeria’s funds infrastructure, boosting transparency, and aligning with worldwide finest practices.

What it is best to know

ISO 20022 is a worldwide language for monetary messaging. It replaces older techniques with a contemporary, data-rich format that permits banks and fee suppliers to trade info extra clearly and precisely. As an alternative of brief and restricted transaction messages, ISO 20022 makes it potential to incorporate extra particulars resembling payer and payee identifiers, function codes, and full remittance info.

• This helps cut back errors, improves fraud detection, and ensures regulators can monitor transactions extra successfully.
• The usual additionally makes cross-border funds sooner and extra dependable, aligning Nigeria’s monetary system with worldwide finest practices.
• Geo-tagging means linking fee terminals like PoS machines to their actual location utilizing GPS coordinates. For the CBN, this can be a technique to observe the place terminals are deployed, cut back fraud, and stop gadgets from being moved to unauthorised places.

It additionally helps regulators determine areas with poor fee protection and information insurance policies for monetary inclusion. For companies and prospects, geo-tagging gives better confidence that transactions are being carried out at reliable and verified places.

Collectively, ISO 20022 and geo-tagging are designed to strengthen Nigeria’s fee infrastructure, enhance transparency, and help safer and sooner transactions.