The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed banks, fintech firms, mobile money operators and other payment service providers to store all payment transaction data generated within Nigeria on local servers.
Timeline for compliance is January 1, 2027. The directive is part of a broader regulatory push to strengthen oversight, improve transparency and reduce concentration risks in the country’s fast-growing digital payments ecosystem.
A circular issued by the apex bank on Monday and signed by the Director of the Payments System Supervision Department, Rakiya O. Yusuf, said all financial institutions and payment system participants facilitating transactions in Nigeria must ensure that payment transaction data generated within the country are stored and managed locally.
The move also aligns with Nigerian data protection laws and regulations.
The move is expected to have significant implications for banks, fintech companies, payment processors and other digital finance operators that currently rely on foreign data infrastructure for parts of their operations.
It said: “All Financial Institutions and participants facilitating payments within Nigeria shall ensure that payments transaction data generated within Nigeria are stored and managed in Nigeria in accordance with data protection laws and regulations applicable in Nigeria. Accordingly, all affected Financial Institutions shall fully comply with this requirement effective January 1, 2027.”
According to the CBN, the new measures were introduced following significant structural changes in Nigeria’s payments landscape, driven by rapid growth in electronic transactions, increased adoption of digital financial services and the emergence of dominant operators across key payment segments.
According to the CBN, while these developments have improved financial inclusion and innovation, they have also created concerns around market concentration, operational dependence on external infrastructure, ownership transparency and the location of critical payment data.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria has observed significant structural developments within the Nigerian Payments ecosystem, characterised by rapid growth in electronic payments, increasing adoption of digital financial services, and the emergence of operators with substantial market presence across key payment activities,” the circular stated.
The regulator added that localising payment data would help safeguard the integrity of the financial system while ensuring that critical transaction records remain within Nigeria’s jurisdiction.
The regulator directed deposit money banks, payment service providers and other financial institutions with digital payment operations to disclose the Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO) of significant shareholders in line with existing anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations.
Institutions are also required to maintain accurate and up-to-date UBO records and make them available to the apex bank upon request.
The measure is designed to improve transparency within the financial system and strengthen efforts to combat illicit financial flows, money laundering and the use of complex ownership structures to conceal control of regulated entities.
The CBN said the circular seeks to improve transparency through beneficial ownership disclosure while promoting a more resilient payments ecosystem.
The apex bank also introduced measures aimed at preventing excessive market concentration in key segments of the payments industry.
Under the new framework, any financial institution that controls more than 25 per cent of the card issuing market within a rolling 12-month period will be prohibited from holding more than 15 per cent market share in merchant acquiring activities during the same period.
