Geo-Tag or Get Shut Down: CBN Sets October Deadline for PoS Terminals

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed that all Point of Sale (PoS) terminals across the country be geo-tagged within 60 days as part of new measures to curb fraud in the payment system.In a circular issued on August 26, 2025, the central bank said the initiative will allow regulators to trace every PoS device, monitor transactions in real time, and eliminate cloned or unregistered terminals.“All terminals must transmit their location at the start of each transaction. Devices found operating outside their registered locations will be flagged and may be deactivated,” the circular stated.The CBN also mandated that newly deployed PoS machines must come with in-built geolocation features and dual-frequency GPS receivers for precise tracking. Transactions carried out more than 10 meters from a merchant’s registered address will be automatically flagged.Banks and licensed fintech operators—including Moniepoint, OPay and PalmPay—are required to register each PoS device with a payment aggregator and provide accurate merchant coordinates.The bank warned that any terminal not geo-tagged by October 20, 2025, will be disabled from the network.