CBN Orders Geo-Tagging of All PoS Terminals Within 60 Days

 CBN Orders Geo-Tagging of All PoS Terminals Within 60 Days

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed that all Point of Sale (PoS) terminals in the country be geo-tagged within the next 60 days as part of efforts to curb fr+ud and strengthen oversight of digital payments.

In a circular dated August 26, 2025, the apex bank said the move forms part of its broader strategy to modernise Nigeria’s payment system, enhance consumer protection, and ensure that financial transactions are both secure and traceable.

“This initiative is designed to ensure that all POS terminals are traceable and that transactions are secure. Terminals operating outside their registered location will be flagged, and non-compliant devices will be deactivated,” the statement read.

According to the CBN, the geo-tagging policy will help eliminate “ghost” or cloned terminals and enable real-time monitoring of transactions. Newly deployed PoS devices are now required to come with native geolocation features and dual-frequency GPS receivers for precise tracking.

The bank further mandated that each PoS device must capture and transmit its location at the start of every transaction, with any activity conducted beyond a 10-meter radius of the registered merchant’s address automatically flagged.

Licensed operators, including major banks and leading fintech firms such as Moniepoint, OPay, and PalmPay, must register each terminal with a payment aggregator and provide accurate merchant coordinates.

CBN warned that all terminals failing to comply with the directive by the October 20, 2025 deadline will be disabled from operating.