CBN Orders Geo-tagging for PoS Terminals to Fight Fraud
By Patience Ikpeme
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a directive mandating all licensed payment operators, including Moniepoint, OPay, PalmPay, and commercial banks, to geo-tag every Point of Sale (PoS) terminal within the next 60 days.
This new measure is designed to combat a rising wave of fraud and unauthorized activities within Nigeria’s booming PoS industry.
Any terminal that does not comply with the geo-tagging requirement by the October 20, 2025 deadline will be deactivated.
The directive also applies to all newly deployed PoS devices, which must be geo-tagged before they are activated. This means that millions of terminals currently in use by agents and merchants nationwide must be registered with the exact GPS coordinates of their location.
Under the new rule, merchants will only be permitted to process payments within a 10-meter radius of their registered business address.
In a circular, the CBN explained that the move is meant to “curb fraud, stop the use of cloned or ‘ghost’ terminals, and make it easier to track transactions in real time.” By ensuring that each terminal’s location is verified and continuously monitored, the directive aims to reduce fraudulent activities and unauthorized use of PoS devices.
The new rule requires all existing PoS machines to be updated with built-in GPS systems and connected to the National Central Switch, which will monitor locations through a special software development kit (SDK). Operators, such as Payment Terminal Service Providers (PTSPs) and mobile money companies, are responsible for ensuring all devices in their network meet the new standards.
The number of PoS devices and agents in Nigeria has grown steadily, with an estimated 1.5 million PoS agents as of 2023, a primary reason for the CBN’s new directives for their operation.
