Following its appraisal of the low rate of compliance of banks and Point-of-Sale (PoS) operators on its earlier order on geo-fencing, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has extended the enforcement of Point-of-Sale terminal geo-fencing to August 1, 2026.
The extension of the compliance timeline is intended to give financial institutions and payment service providers more time to comply with the regulatory requirement aimed at strengthening oversight of electronic payment channels in the country.
The latest directive of the apex bank is contained in a circular signed by the Director of the Payments System Supervision Department, Dr Rakiya Yusuf. And dated May 29, 2026, posted on its website
The circular, which was addressed to Deposit Money Banks, Microfinance Banks, Mobile Money Operators, Switching and Processing Companies, Payment Terminal Service Providers, Payment Solution Service Providers, Super Agents, and other licensed operators in the Nigerian payments ecosystem, the circular announced a revision to the policy’s implementation timeline.
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Specifically, the apex bank announced two key adjustments to the framework, namely it increased the permissible geo-fence radius for PoS terminals from 10 metres to 70 metres, and it postponed the enforcement date for compliance with the geo-fencing requirement.
The CBN directed all affected institutions and PoS operators to submit evidence of compliance before the new enforcement date.
It maintained that the decision followed engagements with stakeholders and considerations arising from the operationalisation of an earlier circular issued on August 25, 2025, which covered migration to ISO 20022 standards for payments messaging and the mandatory geo-tagging of payment terminals.
The circular partly read, “Further to the Circular with reference number PSS/DIR/PUB/CIR/001/001 dated August 25, 2025 on migration to ISO 20022 standards for payments messaging, mandatory geo-tagging of payment terminals, and various stakeholders’ engagement on the subject to address the operationalisation of the Circular, the Central Bank of Nigeria has considered and approved the following.”
It would be recalled the apex bank had in August 2025 directed that all PoS terminals in the country be geo-tagged within 60 days as part of its monetary policy initiatives to frontally tackle financial fraud and strength its oversight of digital payments.
The geo-fencing requires PoS terminals to operate within approved geographic locations associated with merchants and agents in order to improve transaction monitoring, reduce abuse of payment channels, and strengthen the integrity of the payments system.
