The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed banks, fintech companies, and other licensed payment operators to install GPS tracking on all Point of Sale (PoS) terminals as part of sweeping new rules aimed at strengthening oversight of electronic payments.
In a circular dated August 25 and signed by Rakiya Yusuf, Director of the Payments System Supervision Department, the apex bank said all PoS devices must have “native geo-location services enabled, with Double-Frequency GPS receivers for reliable geo-location service.”
Under the directive, operators must register each terminal with a payment terminal service aggregator (PTSA) and provide accurate location coordinates of the merchants’ or agents’ business premises. Every transaction will now require geo-location data at the point of initiation, while activities outside a 10-metre radius of the registered location will be automatically flagged
The CBN warned that terminals not geo-tagged within 60 days will be barred from processing payments, while new devices must be tagged before certification and activation.
“All existing terminals and newly registered terminals must ensure strict adhpperence always to approved MSC code per sector: All existing terminals must be geo-tagged within 60 days of this circular; new terminals going forward must be geo-tagged before certification and activation,” the circular read
The move comes as PoS operators have become a backbone of Nigeria’s cash economy, processing millions of transactions daily amid limited bank branch networks and frequent ATM cash shortages. However, the sector’s rapid expansion has been accompanied by rising fraud complaints and security concerns, with authorities reporting cases where kidnappers compelled victims to transfer ransom payments through nearby PoS machines to evade detection.
In addition to GPS tracking, the CBN ordered all payment companies to migrate to the ISO 20022 global messaging standard by October 31, 2025. Developed by SWIFT, the new standard is designed to improve the quality of transaction data and enhance the security and efficiency of both domestic and cross-border payments.
The circular also mandates that all PoS devices run on Android version 10 or higher to integrate with the National Central Switch, which will host the geolocation monitoring and geofencing software kit.
“All payment transaction messages exchanged domestically or internationally must be formatted in ISO 20022 in line with CBN and SWIFT specifications,” the CBN said, adding that compliance checks will begin on October 20.
