CBN Sets October 31 Deadline for Payment Companies to Migrate to ISO 20022 and Geo-Tag Terminals

The CBN has ordered banks and payment operators to adopt ISO 20022 and geo-tagging by October 2025.

All payment terminals must meet new standards or face restrictions during compliance checks.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a new directive mandating all participants in the payment ecosystem to fully migrate to the ISO 20022 messaging standard and implement geo-tagging of payment terminals by October 31, 2025.

The policy, outlined in a circular dated August 25, 2025, and signed by Dr. Rakiya O. Yusuf, the Director of the Payments System Supervision Department, applies to various financial entities. This includes 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), Super Agents, and other licensed operators.

According to the circular, all domestic and international payment transaction messages must now conform to ISO 20022 standards, in line with CBN and SWIFT specifications. Institutions must also ensure the accurate inclusion of all mandatory data elements such as payer and payee identifiers, merchant and agent identifiers, and transaction metadata.

Beyond messaging, the CBN introduced compulsory geo-tagging for all payment terminals to improve oversight and reduce fraud. Terminals must be registered with a Payment Terminal Service Aggregator (PTSA) and linked to exact latitude and longitude coordinates of merchant locations.

The circular also stipulates that all payment terminals must operate on Android OS version 10 or higher for compatibility with the National Central Switch’s geolocation monitoring system.

Any terminal that is not routed through a PTSA will not be allowed to process transactions.

The CBN announced that compliance validation exercises will begin on October 20, 2025, ahead of the full deadline.

• Adopting ISO 20022 allows for richer, standardized, and more accurate financial messaging on a global scale.
• Geo-tagging ensures regulators can track terminal deployment, monitor merchant activities, and prevent unauthorized device redeployment.

The reforms are expected to strengthen Nigeria’s payment infrastructure, boost transparency, curb fraud, and align the financial system with international best practices.