ABUJA, Nigeria (Chatnewstv.com) — The Central Bank of Nigeria has ordered that all Point of Sale terminals across the country be geo-tagged within 60 days, in a move aimed at tightening oversight of digital payments and combating fraud.
The directive, issued August 26, requires that every PoS device capture and transmit its location at the start of each transaction. Terminals operating beyond a 10-meter radius of their registered merchant address will be automatically flagged.
“This initiative is designed to ensure that all PoS terminals are traceable and that transactions are secure,” the bank said in a statement. “Terminals operating outside their registered location will be flagged, and non-compliant devices will be deactivated.”
The CBN said newly deployed PoS machines must feature built-in geolocation tools and double-frequency GPS receivers for accuracy. Devices that fail to comply by the October 20 deadline will be barred from operation.
Officials said the policy will help eliminate cloned or “ghost” terminals and allow regulators to monitor transactions in real time.
Licensed operators, including major banks and fintech companies such as Moniepoint, OPay and PalmPay, must now register each terminal with a payment aggregator and provide precise merchant coordinates.
