The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has tightened regulation on agent banking by mandating geo-tagging (or geo-fencing) of Level of Sale (PoS) terminals and introducing a minimal penalty of N5 million, with an extra N300,000 per day for ongoing non-compliance.
The regulator additionally prolonged the enforcement deadline for location and exclusivity guidelines till April 1, 2026, giving business gamers extra lead time to conform.
In a round (PSP/DIR/CON/CWO/001/049) launched October 6, 2025, and signed by Musa I. Jimoh, Director of Funds System Coverage, the CBN launched recent compliance measures to mirror the rising sophistication of the PoS ecosystem and Nigeria’s push for deeper monetary inclusion.
What the brand new guideline says
The CBN stated the rules would take impact instantly. Nevertheless, the stricter components round guaranteeing brokers are tied to mounted areas (agent location) and unique operations (agent exclusivity) will start on April 1, 2026.
The round learn, “This round takes impact from the date of launch, whereas the implementation of agent location and agent exclusivity shall be with impact from April 1, 2026.”
The rules require that every one PoS terminals utilized in agent banking be geo-locked to their registered premises. Any system working exterior that space could face sanctions. Principals and tremendous brokers should guarantee these controls are in place.
Additionally, principals are required to publish and preserve up to date registers of all their brokers, each on-line and in bodily branches, whereas tremendous brokers are anticipated to have at the very least 50 brokers unfold throughout Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones always. Any proposed relocation, switch, or closure of agent premises have to be authorised in writing, with a 30-day public discover required on the agent location to tell clients.
In apply, a chronic breach may value an operator tens of thousands and thousands of naira earlier than additional regulatory motion (delisting, suspension, blacklisting) is taken into account.
Different penalties within the pointers cowl late submission of reviews, improper agent conduct, fraud, non-permissible actions, and failure to take care of agent information or accounts.
What it is best to know
These new guidelines don’t seem in isolation. On August 25, 2025, the CBN had already issued a round commanding all present PoS terminals to be geo-tagged inside 60 days, and new units have to be geo-tagged earlier than activation.
That earlier doc mandated using ISO 20022 messaging for funds and required units to help geolocation and geofencing, limiting operational radius to ~10 metres from registered addresses. Terminals that failed the compliance checks scheduled from October 20, 2025, could be deactivated.
Nairametrics earlier reported that PoS terminal issuers in Nigeria, principally fintechs, are bracing for doable service disruptions and income losses because the CBN’s earlier October 31 deadline for the obligatory geo-tagging of all PoS terminals approaches.
With over 8.3 million registered PoS terminals within the nation and 5.9 million already deployed as of March 2025, the dimensions of the train is huge.
The extension to April 2026 offers respiratory area however doesn’t soften the risk: come enforcement day, non-geo-locked terminals could also be shut down, and brokers or establishments could incur heavy fines. For retailers, this will likely restrict the mobility of PoS providers and reinforce fixed-location operations.
Operators, particularly smaller ones, will want capital to improve firmware, put money into location-aware units, combine with the CBN’s regulatory platforms (e.g. CARDS), and redesign community footprints. Nevertheless, some business analysts consider many more recent PoS units have already got GPS modules, so reconfiguration could suffice as a substitute of system alternative.
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