The Central Bank of Nigeria has extended the enforcement of Point-of-Sale terminal geo-fencing to August 1, 2026, giving financial institutions and payment service providers additional time to comply with the regulatory requirement aimed at strengthening oversight of electronic payment channels.

The directive was contained in a circular dated May 29, 2026, and obtained from the CBN’s website on Friday.

The circular was signed by the Director of the Payments System Supervision Department, Dr Rakiya Yusuf.

Addressed to Deposit Money Banks, Microfinance Banks, Mobile Money Operators, Switching and Processing Companies, Payment Terminal Service Providers, Payment Solution Service Providers, Super Agents, and other licensed operators in the Nigerian payments ecosystem, the circular announced a revision to the policy’s implementation timeline.

The CBN stated that the decision followed engagements with stakeholders and considerations arising from the operationalisation of an earlier circular issued on August 25, 2025, which covered migration to ISO 20022 standards for payments messaging and the mandatory geo-tagging of payment terminals.

The PUNCH earlier reported in August 2025 that the CBN directed that all PoS terminals in the country be geo-tagged within 60 days as part of measures to curb fraud and strengthen oversight of digital payments.

The latest circular read, “Further to the Circular with reference number PSS/DIR/PUB/CIR/001/001 dated August 25, 2025 on migration to ISO 20022 standards for payments messaging, mandatory geo-tagging of payment terminals, and various stakeholders’ engagement on the subject to address the operationalisation of the Circular, the Central Bank of Nigeria has considered and approved the following.”

The apex bank announced two key adjustments to the framework.

First, it increased the permissible geo-fence radius for PoS terminals from 10 metres to 70 metres.

Secondly, it postponed the enforcement date for compliance with the geo-fencing requirement.

The circular stated, “Geo-fence radius is hereby increased from 10 metres to 70 metres,” and added that, “Enforcement of PoS Terminal Geo-fence is extended to August 1, 2026.”

Geo-fencing requires PoS terminals to operate within approved geographic locations associated with merchants and agents.

The measure is designed to improve transaction monitoring, reduce abuse of payment channels, and strengthen the integrity of the payments system.

The CBN directed all affected institutions to submit evidence of compliance before the new enforcement date.

The circular read, “Evidence of compliance to the above should be addressed to the Director, Payments System Supervision Department via paymentdata@cbn.gov.ng not later than July 31, 2026.”

The regulator also instructed financial institutions to address outstanding technical and operational challenges with the National Central Switch to facilitate the smooth implementation of the policy.

“Financial institutions are required to resolve all operational issues with the National Central Switch within the stipulated timeline to ease compliance,” the circular stated.

The extension is expected to provide operators additional time to complete system upgrades, align terminal locations with regulatory requirements, and address operational bottlenecks before enforcement begins in August. (The PUNCH)

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