The Central Bank of Nigeria has mandated that all Point of Sale transactions from merchant and agent locations be routed through an approved Payment Terminal Service Aggregator.
This directive, issued with a 30-day compliance deadline, is designed to enhance the monitoring of electronic transactions and decentralize the routing process.
The CBN’s circular, signed by Oladimeji Yisa Taiwo, aims to address concerns about the centralization of PoS transactions by ensuring they are routed through CBN-licensed PTSA providers.
The circular read, “To achieve the objective of tracking electronic transactions in Nigeria, the Central Bank of Nigeria, in August 2011, granted a Payment Terminal Service Aggregator licence to Nigeria Interbank Settlement System Plc. In furtherance of the above, 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.
“PTSAs are required to send PoS transactions to only processors certified by the relevant Payment Scheme, nominated by the Acquirer, and licensed by the CBN.”
The recent directive by the Central Bank of Nigeria to route all PoS transactions through approved Payment Terminal Service Aggregators follows the expiration of a registration deadline for PoS agents with the Corporate Affairs Commission on September 5.
Despite legal challenges to the registration directive, the CAC has begun shutting down unregistered PoS businesses.
This move, alongside the CBN’s enhanced transaction routing rules, addresses frequent fraud incidents associated with PoS terminals and aligns with the bank’s broader efforts to curb cryptocurrency trading.
