The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has given all monetary establishments, acquirers and fee service suppliers a one-month deadline to implement necessary twin connectivity for all Level of Sale (PoS) transactions.
The instruction is contained in a round signed by the Director of the Funds System Supervision Division, Rakiya Yusuf, and dated December 11, 2025.
The regulator stated the directive upgrades an earlier coverage from September 2024 and is aimed toward eliminating the persistent single-channel bottleneck that has triggered frequent PoS downtime nationwide.
Underneath the brand new rule, all acquirers, processors and Fee Terminal Service Suppliers should keep energetic hyperlinks with each the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) and Unified Fee Providers Restricted (UPSL).
This twin hyperlink is anticipated to cut back dependence on any single aggregator and stabilise the fee infrastructure.
CBN strikes to cut back PoS failures and implement real-time reporting
To strengthen resilience, the CBN ordered that PoS routing methods should be configured to change robotically between the 2 aggregators each time a disruption happens. This computerized failover is now a obligatory normal throughout the business, designed to enhance transaction completion charges throughout community outages.
The round additionally mandates periodic redundancy and failover checks. NIBSS and UPSL are required to collaborate with regulated monetary establishments to validate system readiness and make sure the structure can assist uninterrupted service. The apex bank stated these checks will type a part of its oversight of payment-system infrastructure.
On reporting obligations, the apex bank launched stricter guidelines. NIBSS and UPSL should inform banks instantly when a downtime happens and should present an in depth incident report back to the Funds System Supervision Division inside 24 hours. The report should define the reason for the disruption, the affect and the corrective measures taken.
With the one-month implementation window, banks and repair suppliers should full integration, testing and system changes earlier than mid-January 2026. The CBN said that each one regulated monetary establishments are anticipated to fulfill the deadline as a part of ongoing efforts to enhance the reliability of digital funds.
What it’s best to know
The newest directive aligns with the apex bank’s broader push to construct a extra resilient digital-payment ecosystem.
This new directive emerges following earlier pointers focused at POS operators within the nation. On August 25, 2025, the CBN issued a round commanding all current PoS terminals to be geo-tagged inside 60 days, and new gadgets should be geo-tagged earlier than activation.
That earlier doc mandated using ISO 20022 messaging for funds and required gadgets to assist 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.
The CBN additionally tightened regulation on agent banking by mandating geo-tagging (or geo-fencing) of PoS terminals and introducing a minimal penalty of N5 million, with a further 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.