Johannesburg: AfricUpdate – News Desk
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a circular mandating all licensed operators in the Nigerian payments ecosystem to migrate to the ISO 20022 standard for payment messaging and to implement mandatory geo-tagging of payment terminals. The directive, dated August 25, 2025, targets Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), Microfinance Banks (MFBs), Mobile Money Operators (MMOs), switching and processing companies, Payment Terminal Service Providers (PTSPs), Payment Solution Service Providers (PSSPs), super agents, and other licensed operators.
The circular emphasizes that all domestic and international payment messages must conform to the ISO 20022 standard in line with CBN and SWIFT specifications. Institutions are required to ensure accurate completion of mandatory data elements, including identifiers for payers, payees, merchants, agents, and transaction metadata. Full compliance is expected no later than October 31, 2025. In addition, the CBN has mandated that all existing and new payment terminals must be geo-tagged, equipped with double-frequency GPS receivers, and registered with a Payment Terminal Service Aggregator (PTSA).
Terminals must comply with certification requirements set by the National Central Switch, including integration of the geolocation and geofencing SDK. Android OS v10 or higher is required for all terminals, and transactions must capture geo-location data within a 10-meter geofence of the registered business location. The CBN will begin compliance validation exercises from October 20, 2025, signaling a major step towards standardizing payment messaging and enhancing the integrity and traceability of Nigeria’s digital financial infrastructure.
