The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed banks and other card issuers to improve the deployment of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) nationwide, with a minimum of one ATM for 7,500 payment cards by 2028.
The apex bank, in its latest ‘Guidelines on the Operations of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in Nigeria’ mandated all card issuers to deploy ATMs of at least 1 ATM per every 7,500 payment cards issued.
In a circular dated March 13, 2026, signed by the apex bank’s Director of the Payments System Policy Department, Musa Jimoh, and addressed to banks, other financial institutions (OFIs) and payment service providers (PSPs), the CBN stated that compliance with the requirement would be phased over three years.
According to the directive, the financial institutions are expected to achieve 30% compliance in 2026, 60% compliance rate in 2027, and full compliance by 2028.
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The CBN clarified that the latest order was designed to strengthen ATM deployment standards, improve customer access to cash services and align Nigeria’s payment infrastructure with global regulatory best practices, as well as due to rapid changes in the payment ecosystem, including rising cyber threats, expanding digital finance and growing demand for financial inclusion.
The new ATM deployment requirements replaced the apex bank’s earlier order on ATM operations as spelt out in its ‘2020 Guidelines on the Operations of Electronic Payment Channels in Nigeria’.
In the latest order, the CBN introduced stricter rules governing ATM deployment, processing arrangements and interoperability across the financial system.
For instance, under the new framework, all ATM transactions carried out in Nigeria must be processed by a company operating within the country as an acquirer-processor while also prohibiting any card scheme from compelling Nigerian banks or acquirers to route domestic ATM transactions outside the country for processing or authorisation.
Similarly, the directive required that all ATM transactions involving Nigerian card issuers must be settled through a domestic settlement arrangement operated by a Nigerian company, with collateral denominated in naira and kept within the country just as it barred the deployment of stand-alone or closed ATM networks, insisting that all ATM systems must be interoperable.
The CBN specified that ATMs must accept all cards issued in Nigeria by authorised issuers and should be installed in locations that provide safe and convenient access to customers.
In addition, it maintained that financial institutions seeking to operate as independent ATM deployers must also obtain prior written approval from it before commencing deployment activities, adding that applicants are required to submit corporate information, demonstrate operational capacity and provide evidence of partnership with banks responsible for cash provisioning.
On performance standards and security requirements, the latest guidelines introduced new operational standards aimed at improving ATM reliability, security and consumer protection and directed that ATM downtime resulting from technical faults must not exceed 72 consecutive hours except where customers are duly notified.
This is even as operators are also required to maintain adequate vault cash levels to prevent machines from running out of cash, while ATMs must not be stocked with unfit banknotes, and mandates that ATM terminals display helpdesk contact information and disclose applicable transaction charges to customers.
The apex bank further directed the banks, OFIs and PSPs to ensure that receipts were also issued for transactions where requested, showing details such as transaction amount, terminal identity, date and time, and to avert frauds, ATM deployers must install anti-skimming devices, surveillance cameras and secure transaction networks capable of protecting customer data.
However, the guidelines stated that surveillance cameras must not record customers’ keystrokes during transactions but require ATM encryption keys to be changed at least yearly, while suspicious transactions detected through ATM systems must be reported to the central bank.
In the latest guidelines, the apex bank also introduced strict timelines for resolving failed ATM transactions to enhance customer protection, stating that failed on-us ATM transactions must be reversed instantly, while manual reversals resulting from technical issues must be completed within 24 hours.
For not-on-us transactions involving another bank’s ATM, refunds must be processed within 48 hours as operators were also required to adopt automated mechanisms that trigger refunds immediately without waiting for complaints from customers or issuing banks.
Also, the guidelines stipulated that customers must be able to report dispense errors through digital channels such as web or mobile applications without the need to visit bank branches, while the apex bank indicated that it would conduct periodic audits and on-site inspections to monitor compliance with the guidelines.
The guidelines also required institutions operating ATMs to submit monthly returns, including details of new ATM deployments and their locations, to the Director of the Payments System Supervision Department not later than the fifth day of the following month.
The CBN warned that appropriate penalties would be imposed on institutions that failed to comply with the provisions of the guidelines or other related regulations issued by it on ATM deployment nationwide.
