The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a six-month ultimatum to all commercial banks and fintech companies to domesticate their payment processing data within the country.
The directive aims to tighten regulatory oversight, enhance national data security, and ensure strict compliance within Nigeria’s rapidly growing financial ecosystem.
For years, several financial institutions have hosted critical customer and transaction data on foreign cloud servers, but under the new policy, all point-of-sale (PoS), web, and mobile transaction data must be stored and processed within local data centres.
This means banking institutions must now restructure their data architecture and invest significantly in local cloud infrastructure or partner with domestic data centre providers. While the mandate raises immediate operational costs for startups, the apex bank maintains that keeping financial data within Nigerian borders is non-negotiable for safeguarding sovereignty and preventing capital flight.
Lenders who fail to comply within the 180-day window face severe regulatory sanctions, including fines or license suspension. The move marks a decisive step by the CBN to secure the nation’s digital economy against external vulnerabilities.
The apex bank also ordered banks, fintechs, and other payment service providers to disclose their ultimate beneficial owners.
The regulatory measures were contained in a circular dated June 15, 2026, and signed by CBN’s Director, Payments System Supervision Department, Dr Rakiya Yusuf.
Addressed to Deposit Money Banks, Microfinance Banks, Mobile Money Operators, switching companies, Payment Terminal Service Providers, Payment Solution Service Providers, Super Agents, and other licensed operators, the circular comes amid the rapid expansion of electronic payments and the increasing dominance of a few players across critical segments of the market.
The regulatory intervention represents one of the most significant interventions by the CBN in the payments industry in recent times, aiming at restructuring the country’s fast-growing digital payments ecosystem.
According to the central bank, while the growth of digital financial services has boosted innovation, efficiency, and financial inclusion, it has also heightened concerns over market concentration, systemic importance, operational dependence, ownership transparency, and location of critical payments data.
The apex banking regulator said the new framework sought to improve transparency, strengthen oversight, and promote a more competitive and resilient payments ecosystem.
The new framework requires all DMBs, payment service providers, and other financial institutions with digital payment operations to disclose the Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO) of significant shareholders.
The CBN also directed affected institutions to maintain accurate and up-to-date records of beneficial ownership and make such information available to the regulator whenever requested.
The lender explained that the directive aligned with existing Anti-Money Laundering, Combating the Financing of Terrorism, and Counter-Proliferation Financing regulations and was expected to strengthen transparency around ownership structures in the financial system.