The Central Financial institution of Nigeria (CBN) has mandated all acquirers, processors, fee terminal service aggregators and suppliers to determine twin connectivity with the Nigeria Inter-Financial institution Settlement System (NIBSS) and Unified Fee Providers Restricted (UPSL) inside one month. The brand new directive goals to eradicate persistent Level of Sale (PoS) transaction failures.
The directive contained in round PSS/DIR/PUB/CIR/001/002 signed by Rakiya Yusuf, CBN director of the funds system supervision division builds on a September 2024 coverage to finish reliance on single routing channels which have plagued the nation’s cashless funds ecosystem.
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Beneath the principles, “All Acquirers, Processors, and Fee Terminal Service Suppliers (PTSPs) shall set up and keep lively connectivity with each licensed Funds Terminal Service Aggregators (PTSAs), particularly the Nigeria Inter-Financial institution Settlement System (NIBSS) and Unified Fee Providers Restricted (UPSL).”
PoS techniques should allow computerized failover to make sure seamless switches throughout outages, a measure focusing on frequent disruptions that frustrate retailers and shoppers throughout retail and casual sectors.
NIBSS and UPSL will conduct periodic exams with monetary establishments to validate redundancy and resilience, with outcomes feeding into CBN oversight.
NIBSS and UPSL should additionally alert banks in actual time throughout downtime and submit detailed studies to Yusuf’s division inside 24 hours.
“NIBSS and UPSL are required to inform the Banks in real-time of any system downtime or disruption,” the round states, whereas additionally mandating disclosure of causes and treatments.
The one-month clock—expiring round mid-January 2026—intensifies stress on an trade dealing with tens of millions of each day transactions amid Nigeria’s push for digital finance.
PoS downtime has eroded belief, with earlier CBN strikes like August’s geo-tagging guidelines failing to totally resolve glitches. Business executives welcomed the repair however flagged integration prices.
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“This twin connectivity is meant to cut back dependence on any single aggregator and stabilise the fee infrastructure,” one funds analyst mentioned, noting it may raise success charges above 95%.
Fintech leaders predict smoother e-commerce and remittances, although smaller PTSPs fear about compliance timelines.
