The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has mandated the geo-tagging of all Point of Sale (PoS) terminals across the country within the next 60 days, as part of ongoing efforts to enhance digital payment security and oversight.
In a circular dated August 26, 2025, obtained by our correspondent, the apex bank said the directive is aimed at curbing payment fraud, improving consumer protection, and modernising Nigeria’s digital financial infrastructure.
According to the statement, “This initiative is designed to ensure that all PoS terminals are traceable and that transactions are secure. Terminals operating outside their registered locations will be flagged, and non-compliant devices will be deactivated.”
The CBN further explained that the policy will eliminate the use of cloned or “ghost” terminals and allow for real-time transaction monitoring by regulatory bodies.
All newly deployed PoS devices must now come equipped with built-in geolocation functionality and dual-frequency GPS receivers for enhanced tracking accuracy. Additionally, each device must transmit its geolocation data at the beginning of every transaction. Transactions initiated more than 10 meters from the registered business address will be automatically flagged for review.
PoS operators, including licensed banks and fintech firms such as Moniepoint, OPay, and PalmPay, are required to register each terminal through a licensed payment aggregator and provide accurate merchant location data.
Devices that fail to comply by the October 20, 2025 deadline will be barred from processing transactions.
