Koko Maxwella 
Abuja, Nigeria – Nigeria’s central bank tightens oversight of electronic payments, mandating dual connectivity for all Point-of-Sale (PoS) terminals nationwide within one month.
In a circular dated 11 December 2025, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directed all financial institutions, acquirers, processors and payment terminal service providers to connect simultaneously to both the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) and Unified Payment Services Limited (UPSL).
The directive, signed by Rakiya Yusuf, Director of the Payments System Supervision Department, updates a policy first introduced in September 2024 and aims to curb persistent PoS failures caused by reliance on a single transaction channel.
“This dual connectivity is intended to reduce dependence on any single aggregator and stabilise the country’s payment infrastructure,” the CBN states.
The apex bank orders periodic redundancy and failover tests to ensure seamless switching between platforms during outages. Results from the tests will form part of the CBN’s ongoing regulatory oversight.
Under stricter reporting rules, both NIBSS and UPSL must immediately notify banks of any service disruption and submit a detailed incident report to the CBN within 24 hours.
The report must outline the cause, scale, customer impact and corrective actions taken. CBN Mandates Dual Connectivity for All PoS Transactions
The CBN says the reforms reinforce its commitment to building a resilient, efficient and consumer-friendly digital payment ecosystem as cashless transactions expand across Nigeria.
About the Author
Oluwatobi Adu 
Edino Chubiyo Cornelius 
