The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has ordered a full CBN ISO 20022 migration for all banks, microfinance institutions, mobile money operators, and licensed payment service providers by October 31, 2025.
ISO 20022 is the global standard for financial messaging. It defines the format of electronic data exchanged in payments, trade services, securities, cards, and foreign exchange.
In a circular signed by Rakiya Yusuf, Director of Payments System Supervision, the apex bank warned that compliance checks will begin on October 20. The statement reads that “institutions must format all domestic and international payment transaction messages in ISO 20022, following CBN and SWIFT specifications”
The directive requires all payment terminals to integrate geolocation services with double-frequency GPS, register with Payment Terminal Service Aggregators (PTSAs), and obtain certification from the National Central Switch. Each terminal must run on at least Android v10 OS and maintain a strict 10-meter geofence for merchant activity.
“You must geo-tag existing terminals within 60 days and tag new ones before activation”
