…Sets October 20 deadline
Propelled by the urgent need to curb rising fraud and safeguard depositors’ funds, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has rolled out a new directive requiring all Point of Sale (PoS) terminals across the country to be geo-tagged within 60 days, or risk being shut down.
In a circular issued on August 25, 2025, the apex bank ordered deposit money banks (DMBs), fintech operators such as Moniepoint, OPay and PalmPay, as well as Payment Terminal Service Providers (PTSPs), to ensure that every PoS device is tied to a specific business location.
“This move is aimed at curbing fraud, eliminating the use of cloned or ghost terminals, and enabling real-time monitoring of transactions,” the CBN stated.
Under the new regulation, each PoS terminal must be equipped with GPS functionality and connected to the National Central Switch through a software development kit (SDK). This will allow regulators to verify the exact coordinates of every transaction.
Merchants will only be able to process payments within a 10-metre radius of their registered business address. Any terminal that is not geo-tagged before the October 20, 2025 compliance deadline will be disabled.
The directive applies not only to existing terminals but also to all new PoS devices, which must be geo-tagged before deployment. Operators, including PTSPs and mobile money companies, will bear the responsibility of ensuring compliance across their networks.
The measure, the CBN explained, is part of wider efforts to tackle rising fraud in Nigeria’s booming PoS industry and to limit unauthorised activities by rogue agents.
Nigeria’s PoS ecosystem has expanded rapidly in recent years. By 2023, there were 1.5 million registered PoS agents, roughly one agent for every 80 Nigerians.
A Bloomberg report also revealed that there are as many as 1,600 PoS operators per square kilometre in parts of the country, underscoring the scale of the sector’s growth.
This rapid expansion, while boosting financial inclusion, has also made the industry a hotbed for fraud and abuse. In response, the CBN has progressively tightened regulations. Last year, it mandated that all PoS transactions must be routed through licensed Payment Terminal Service Aggregators (PTSA) and required operators to register their businesses with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
The latest geo-tagging requirement signals the apex bank’s determination to enforce stricter oversight. By tying every PoS device to a verified location, the regulator aims to restore trust in the system while making it harder for fraudsters to operate undetected.
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