The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a stringent directive requiring all banks and financial institutions operating in the country to complete the migration to the ISO 20022 messaging standard and implement mandatory geo-tagging of payment terminals by October 31, 2025.
The move is part of the apex bank’s ongoing effort to modernize Nigeria’s payment ecosystem and strengthen oversight across the financial sector.
According to a circular published on the CBN website on Tuesday, the directive applies to Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), Microfinance Banks, Mobile Money Operators, Switching and Processing Companies, Payment Terminal Service Providers (PTSPs), Payment Solution Service Providers, Super Agents, and all other licensed payment operators in the country.
The circular, signed by Dr. Rakiya Yusuf, Director of the Payments System Supervision Department, emphasized that ISO 20022 is now the global standard for payment messaging and must be strictly adopted by all institutions handling domestic and international financial transactions.
“All payment transaction messages exchanged domestically or internationally must be formatted in ISO 20022 in line with CBN and SWIFT specifications,” the circular noted.
“All institutions must ensure the accurate population of mandatory data elements, including payer and payee identifiers, merchant and agent identifiers, and transaction metadata.”
Beyond adopting ISO 20022, the CBN is also mandating the implementation of geo-tagging for all payment terminals to improve monitoring, reduce fraud, and enhance data accuracy.
All existing and new terminals must feature native geolocation services with double-frequency GPS receivers.
Terminals will need to be registered with a Payment Terminal Service Aggregator (PTSA) using precise latitude and longitude coordinates.
Android OS version 10 or higher will be the minimum software requirement to ensure compatibility with the National Central Switch’s monitoring systems.
The circular further states that geo-location data must be captured at the point of each transaction and included in the message payload as a mandatory reporting field.
Terminals not routed through a PTSA will be barred from processing transactions. Institutions are required to complete geo-tagging for existing terminals within 60 days of the circular’s issuance, while new terminals must be geo-tagged prior to certification and activation.
The CBN has made it clear that compliance is non-negotiable. Payment institutions failing to meet the October 31 deadline risk penalties, including restrictions on processing transactions until full compliance is achieved.
Validation exercises to assess compliance will commence on October 20, 2025, giving institutions less than two months to finalize upgrades and meet the central bank’s standards.
Dr. Yusuf emphasized that the adoption of ISO 20022 and geo-tagging reforms aligns Nigeria with global best practices and enhances data quality across the financial system.
“These reforms are designed to strengthen Nigeria’s payments infrastructure, boost transparency, improve risk management, and facilitate faster, safer, and more efficient transactions both domestically and internationally,” she said.
Experts say the CBN’s directive will modernize the country’s financial architecture, particularly as Nigeria seeks to position itself as a hub for digital payments in Africa.
ISO 20022 will allow banks and payment operators to exchange richer and more structured data, reducing errors, enhancing fraud detection, and supporting compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) requirements.
Geo-tagging will also ensure improved oversight of point-of-sale (POS) activities and mobile payment agents across the country.
Financial analysts note that while the reforms may initially require significant investment in hardware, software, and staff training, the long-term benefits are substantial.
Enhanced payment security, reduced fraud, improved reporting accuracy, and alignment with global payment standards are expected to attract more foreign investment and improve customer confidence in Nigeria’s digital payment systems.
The CBN’s directive underscores the central bank’s commitment to maintaining a resilient, secure, and globally competitive financial sector, ensuring that Nigeria keeps pace with technological advances in banking and digital payments.