Nigeria’s Central Bank moved into the enforcement phase of its point-of-sale terminal geo-fencing rules on August 1, following a two-month extension granted to banks and payment-service providers.

The revised timetable increased the permitted geo-fence radius from 10 metres to 70 metres. The rule is designed to associate each terminal with an approved merchant or agent location and to strengthen monitoring of electronic-payment activity.

The Central Bank directed deposit-money banks, microfinance banks, mobile-money operators, switches, terminal providers and other licensed participants to provide evidence of compliance by July 31. It also told institutions to resolve technical issues involving the National Central Switch.

The effective date does not by itself establish how quickly every non-compliant device will be identified or what disruption an individual customer may encounter. Banks, agents and merchants should rely on current instructions from their licensed provider, while consumers should report failed or suspicious transactions through official complaint channels.

Source: Central Bank of Nigeria, revised PoS geo-fencing timetable — cbn.gov.ng source ↗

Source: Central Bank of Nigeria, payments reforms and geo-tagging background — cbn.gov.ng source ↗

Source: Punch, reporting the revised enforcement circular — punchng.com source ↗