ABUJA — The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a fresh directive mandating all banks, Mobile Money Operators (MMOs), Switching and Processing Companies, Payment Terminal Service Providers (PTSPs), Payment Solution Service Providers (PSSPs), Super Agents, and other licensed operators in the country to migrate to the ISO 20022 messaging standard and implement geo-tagging of payment terminals.
In a circular dated August 25, 2025, and signed by the Director of the Payments System Supervision Department, Rakiya Yusuf, the apex bank set October 31, 2025, as the deadline for full compliance, while announcing that compliance checks will begin from October 20, 2025.
“All payment transaction messages exchanged domestically or internationally must be formatted in ISO 20022 in line with CBN and SWIFT specifications. All existing terminals must be geo-tagged within 60 days of this circular; new terminals going forward must be geo-tagged before certification and activation,” the circular stated.
The bank noted that the directive is in line with its earlier circulars on SWIFT global migration timelines, first issued on July 17 and September 23, 2020.
The move, according to the CBN, is aimed at modernizing Nigeria’s payments infrastructure, boosting transparency, and enhancing global interoperability of financial transactions.
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