CBN has mandated banks and fintech operators to adopt ISO 20022 and geo-tag PoS terminals by October 2025 to curb fraud and align with global standards.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed all banks, mobile money operators, super agents, and other licensed payment service providers to fully migrate to the ISO 20022 payment messaging standard and geo-tag all point-of-sale (PoS) terminals by October 31, 2025.
In a circular signed by the Director of the Payments System Supervision Department, Dr. Rakiya Yusuf, the apex bank said the move would strengthen transparency, align Nigeria’s payment infrastructure with international benchmarks, and curb fraud linked to rogue PoS operators.
“All payment transaction messages exchanged domestically or internationally must be formatted in ISO 20022 in line with CBN and SWIFT specifications,” it stated.
The CBN further ordered that all PoS terminals be equipped with native geolocation services using double-frequency GPS receivers, ensuring accurate coordinates for merchants and agents.
It warned that compliance validation exercises would begin on October 20, 2025, stressing that uncertified or non-geo-tagged terminals would be barred from transacting.