The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a fresh directive requiring all Nigerian Deposit Money Banks, Mobile Money Operators, Switching and Processing Companies, Payment Terminal Service Providers, Payment Solution Service Providers, Super Agents, and other licensed players to complete the migration to the ISO 20022 global payments messaging standard by October 31, 2025.
In a circular dated August 25, 2025, signed by Rakiya Yusuf, Director of the Payments System Supervision Department, the apex bank highlighted that all domestic and international payment transactions messages must be formatted in ISO 20022 in line with CBN and SWIFT specifications. The circular also mandates that all existing payment terminals must be geo-tagged within 60 days, while new terminals must be geo-tagged before certification and activation.
The geo-tagging requirement includes enabling native geolocation services supported by double-frequency GPS receivers, registering terminals with Payment Terminal Service Aggregators, assigning precise geographic coordinates based on merchant business locations, and ensuring compatibility with the National Central Switch monitoring system. Compliance checks are scheduled to begin on October 20, 2025.
These measures aim to strengthen Nigeria’s payment infrastructure, reduce fraud, enhance transaction transparency, and align the country’s financial system with international standards.