CBN Wan Make Digital Transactions Safer with New POS Rules

Di Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) don begin clamp down on PoS fraud with new rules wey include geo-tagging and global payment standard. Di goal na to make all digital transactions traceable and trustworthy. As digital payment dey change how people dey do business from Lagos, Onitsha, Abuja, to even online markets, problems like fraud, technical wahala, and lack of access still dey slow Nigeria move to fully digital economy. To stop these issues, CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, don introduce strict eye for PoS and other electronic payment systems. New rules wey dem publish for August 25, 2025, under di title “Migration to ISO 20022 Standard for Payment Messaging and Mandatory Geo-Tagging of Payment Terminals”, talk say every PoS machine must now carry GPS location and register under licensed payment aggregator. Di machine go only dey work within 10 metres from where dem register am. Dis move na part of counter-terrorism and anti-fraud effort to stop bad people wey dey use PoS to scam Nigerians.

Di regulation talk say all PoS terminals must dey linked to either NIBSS or Unified Payment Services, and all transactions must pass through these channels. PoS wey no get GPS go dey blocked from processing payments, and every transaction must include di location where e start from. CBN give 60 days make operators comply before di final deadline of October 31, 2025. Di rule go help trace criminals wey dey move PoS from one place to another, including those wey dey use am collect ransom. As of March 2025, Nigeria get 8.36 million registered PoS machines, and 5.9 million dey active. All PoS must now use Android 10 or higher to link with National Central Switch for location monitoring. CBN say payment messages must now follow ISO 20022 global standard, wey go improve transaction data and link Nigeria with global financial systems. Dem also launch USSD code *959# for people to verify financial institutions and submit complaints. Analysts and stakeholders like Dr. Aliyu Ilias and Uju Ogubunka don support di move, even as dem mention say it fit increase customer charges. From Lagos Island to rural towns, PoS dey help people do business without cash, and CBN hope say with better regulation, Nigeria PoS system fit become example for other African countries.