Victor Ezeja
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a directive requiring all operators in the country’s payment ecosystem to complete their migration to the ISO 20022 global messaging standard and implement mandatory geo-tagging of payment terminals by 31 October 2025.
In a circular published on its official website on August 25, 2025, the CBN reminded Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), Microfinance Banks (MFBs), Mobile Money Operators (MMOs), Switching and Processing Companies, Payment Terminal Service Providers (PTSPs), Payment Solution Service Providers (PSSPs), Super Agents, and other licensed operators that compliance is required.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe circular, signed by Dr. Rakiya O. Yusuf, Director of the Payments System Supervision Department, stated that ISO 20022 has become the global standard for payment messaging.
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The apex bank stated that the move is consistent with the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications’ (SWIFT) global migration timeline and aims to standardize quality data across Nigeria’s financial system.
“All payment transaction messages exchanged domestically or internationally must be formatted in ISO 20022 in line with CBN and SWIFT specifications,” the circular stated.
It said operators are responsible for accurately populating mandatory data elements such as payer and payee identifiers, merchant and agent identifiers, and transaction metadata.
The CBN warned that institutions in scope must complete the migration and achieve full compliance by the October 31 deadline.
Compliance validation exercises are scheduled to begin on October 20, 2025.
Aside from messaging standards, the bank implemented mandatory geo-tagging of payment terminals to improve oversight and reduce fraud in the electronic payments space.
It required that all existing and newly deployed terminals enable native geolocation services with double-frequency GPS receivers and register with a Payment Terminal Service Aggregator using precise latitude and longitude coordinates.
The bank also mandated that all terminals must have Android OS version 10 as a minimum software requirement to be compatible with the National Central Switch’s geolocation monitoring system.
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Terminals that are not directly routed through a PTSA will be unable to transact, and geo-location data must be captured at the point of transaction and included in the message payload as a mandatory reporting field.
According to the apex bank, these reforms are intended to strengthen Nigeria’s payments infrastructure, increase transparency, and align with international best practices.
The regulator emphasised that these reforms are aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s payments infrastructure, boosting transparency, and aligning with international best practices.
