CBN orders banks, Fintechs to fully adopt ISO 20022, geo-tagging of payment

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a sweeping directive mandating all players in the country’s financial services and payments ecosystem to complete migration to the ISO 20022 messaging standard and implement compulsory geo-tagging of all payment terminals no later than October 31, 2025.

In a circular released on its official website and dated August 25, 2025, the apex bank stressed that the reforms are aimed at modernising Nigeria’s payment infrastructure, strengthening oversight, and aligning with global standards. The document was signed by Dr. Rakiya O. Yusuf, Director of the Payments System Supervision Department.

According to the circular, all financial institutions—including Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), Microfinance Banks (MFBs), Mobile Money Operators (MMOs), Switching and Processing Companies, Payment Terminal Service Providers (PTSPs), Payment Solution Service Providers (PSSPs), and Super Agents—must ensure that all payment messages exchanged domestically and internationally conform to the ISO 20022 format.

ISO 20022, developed under the auspices of the International Organization for Standardization, is now the global benchmark for financial messaging, replacing legacy formats with a richer, data-driven standard. The migration is also in line with SWIFT’s global adoption timeline.

“All payment transaction messages exchanged domestically or internationally must be formatted in ISO 20022 in line with CBN and SWIFT specifications,” the circular stated, adding that institutions must accurately capture critical data elements such as payer and payee identifiers, merchant and agent identifiers, and transaction metadata.

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In addition to ISO 20022, the CBN is introducing mandatory geo-tagging of all payment terminals, including point-of-sale (PoS) machines, to combat fraud, enhance regulatory visibility, and improve financial inclusion mapping.

The directive requires all existing and newly deployed terminals to have native geolocation services enabled and supported by dual-frequency GPS receivers.

Each device must be registered with a Payment Terminal Service Aggregator (PTSA) and tied to a merchant’s precise latitude and longitude coordinates.

“All existing terminals must be geo-tagged within 60 days of this circular, while newly deployed devices must be geo-tagged before certification and activation,” the CBN warned.

To support this initiative, Android OS version 10 has been set as the minimum software standard for all payment devices, ensuring compatibility with the National Central Switch’s geolocation monitoring system.

Furthermore, the regulator directed that terminals not routed through a PTSA will not be permitted to transact, while geo-location data must be captured at the point of transaction and embedded in the payment message payload as a mandatory reporting field.

The CBN noted that validation checks will begin on October 20, 2025, ahead of the final compliance deadline at the end of that month. Institutions that fail to meet the requirements risk being sanctioned or excluded from the payment ecosystem.

Experts say ISO 20022 enables richer transaction information, reduces errors, improves fraud detection, and makes cross-border payments faster and more reliable. For regulators, the new standard enhances transparency and improves oversight of the financial system.

Geo-tagging, on the other hand, helps regulators track terminal deployment, prevent devices from being used in unauthorised locations, and guide financial inclusion policies by highlighting areas underserved by digital payment infrastructure.

Together, the two reforms are expected to strengthen Nigeria’s financial system, boost customer confidence, and bring the country’s payment ecosystem in line with international best practices.