The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a new directive requiring all Payment Service Providers to route transactions from point-of-sale (PoS) terminals, whether at merchant or agent locations, through an authorized Payment Terminal Service Aggregator (PTSA).

This applies to both physical and electronic PoS transactions.

This mandate was announced in a circular released on Thursday, signed by Oladimeji Yisa Taiwo on behalf of the Director of the CBN’s Payments System Management Department.

The apex bank has given Payment Service Providers a 30-day window to fully comply with the revised guidelines for handling PoS transactions.

The CBN explained that the decision aims to improve oversight of electronic transactions throughout Nigeria and decentralize the process of routing PoS transactions.

This move is intended to address concerns about the over-centralization of these transactions under a single entity, ensuring a more secure and efficient payment infrastructure.

The circular stated, “The CBN hereby directs acquirers to route all transactions from PoS terminals at merchant and agent locations, whether on physical or electronic PoS terminals, through any CBN-licensed Payment Terminal Service Aggregator.”

Furthermore, these aggregators are required to process transactions only through payment processors certified by the relevant Payment Scheme and licensed by the CBN, as chosen by the acquirer.

This new directive comes at a time when the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) had just concluded its deadline for PoS operators to formalize their businesses, which expired earlier in September 2024.

With this regulatory shift, the CBN seeks to establish clearer accountability in the PoS transaction space.

In recent data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS), PoS terminals accounted for 26.37% of Nigeria’s fraud incidents in 2023, highlighting the need for stronger oversight and security measures in this growing sector.

It’s worth noting that the CBN had already licensed NIBSS as a Payment Terminal Service Aggregator back in 2011 to monitor and track electronic transactions across the country.

This latest directive is seen as a reinforcement of the CBN’s commitment to ensuring the integrity and security of Nigeria’s payment systems.

With the increasing reliance on PoS terminals for transactions across the nation, this move is expected to boost trust in electronic payment systems, reducing fraud risks and providing a more decentralized, secure framework for handling transactions.

Payment Service Providers are now working against the clock to comply with the new guidelines within the given timeframe, signaling a significant shift in Nigeria’s payment landscape.