The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has instructed all financial institutions, acquirers, and payment service providers to implement mandatory dual connectivity for Point of Sale (PoS) transactions within one month.

This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Director of the Payments System Supervision Department, Rakiya Yusuf, updating a September 2024 policy.

“Under the new rule, all acquirers, processors, and payment terminal service providers must maintain active links with both the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) and Unified Payment Services Limited (UPSL).

According to the statement, “It aims to address frequent PoS downtime 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.

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“To ensure readiness, the apex bank has mandated periodic redundancy and failover tests. NIBSS and UPSL must work with regulated institutions to confirm that systems can support uninterrupted service, with results forming part of CBN’s ongoing oversight,” the statement read.

According to CBN, the circular introduces stricter reporting obligations.

Source: Punch