The CBN has ordered all PoS terminals in Nigeria to be geo-tagged with GPS within 60 days.
Devices not compliant by October 20, 2025, will be deactivated to curb fraud and misuse.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has mandated that all Point of Sale (PoS) terminals across the country be equipped with GPS tracking technology within the next 60 days.
In a circular issued to operators, the CBN stated that this directive aims to combat fraud, prevent the usage of cloned or “ghost” terminals, and improve real-time monitoring within the rapidly growing PoS industry.
The regulation impacts authorized payment service providers, such as Moniepoint, OPay, PalmPay, and commercial banks.
The CBN requires that every existing PoS device be registered with its precise GPS coordinates; new devices will not be activated without being geo-tagged.
The CBN has warned that any terminal that fails to meet the October 20, 2025, deadline will be deactivated. “This move is intended to curb fraud, eliminate the use of cloned or ghost terminals, and facilitate real-time transaction tracking,” the bank stated.
Under this new policy, PoS terminals must also be connected to the National Central Switch through a specialized software development kit (SDK). This will limit merchants to processing payments only within a 10-meter radius of their registered business address.
Furthermore, the CBN cautioned that any PoS machine found operating outside its registered location will be automatically shut down. Entities such as Payment Terminal Service Providers (PTSPs) and mobile money companies will be responsible for ensuring compliance throughout their networks.
