Point of Sale (PoS) terminals have become the backbone of Nigeria’s cash economy.
As bank branches shrink and ATMs frequently run dry, millions now depend on PoS operators for daily transactions.
However, fraud has surged alongside this boom, and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is now tightening its grip with sweeping reforms.
GPS Tracking For PoS Terminals Nationwide
On August 25, the apex bank issued a circular, signed by Director of the Payments System Supervision Department, Rakiya Yusuf, ordering banks, fintechs, and licensed operators to fit every PoS terminal with GPS tracking.
The CBN now requires all devices to carry native geo-location services and double-frequency GPS receivers for pinpoint accuracy.
To enforce this, the bank directed operators to register each terminal with a Payment Terminal Service Aggregator (PTSA) and submit the exact coordinates of every merchant or agent’s premises.
From this point forward, every transaction must include geo-location data.
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If a device operates outside a 10-metre radius of its registered spot, the system will immediately flag the activity.
Furthermore, the CBN set strict deadlines.
It gave operators 60 days to geo-tag all existing terminals, while it ruled that new devices must be geo-tagged before certification and activation.
Any device that fails to comply will instantly lose access to the payment network.
New CBN Payment Compliance Rules 2025
This decisive move highlights the risks fuelling the reforms.
Fraud complaints have multiplied, and in some alarming cases, kidnappers forced victims to transfer ransom money through nearby PoS machines to slip past authorities.
By tightening control, the CBN aims to close those loopholes.
In addition, the apex bank directed all payment companies to migrate to the ISO 20022 global messaging standard by October 31, 2025.
Developed by SWIFT, the standard promises richer transaction data, greater efficiency, and stronger safeguards for both local and cross-border payments.
To support the shift, the CBN also instructed operators to run PoS terminals on Android version 10 or higher.
This upgrade will allow seamless integration with the National Central Switch, which will host the geolocation monitoring and geofencing software.
Compliance checks, the regulator announced, will begin on October 20.
By laying down these rules, the CBN signals that it will not allow fraud to outpace innovation.
For merchants, operators, and customers, the era of loosely monitored PoS transactions is giving way to one defined by stricter oversight and digital accountability.
