CBN directs service providers to commence PoS transaction tracking
…Issues a 30-day deadline
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed payment service providers to begin the tracking of all Point of Sale (PoS) transactions , through an approved CBN Payment Terminal Service Aggregator.
This directive is contained in a circular signed by Oladimeji Yisa Taiwo on behalf of the CBN’s Payments System Management Department on Thursday , to all Payment Service Providers (PSPs) on connectivity to payment terminal service aggregators, the apex bank handed a 30-day deadline to PSPs to regularise with Payment Terminal Service Aggregators (PTSA).
This move , according to the apex bank , aims to strengthen the monitoring of electronic transactions across Nigeria and decentralise PoS transaction routing, addressing concerns about the centralisation of such transactions under a single entity.
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.”
This development follows the expiration of the 5th September deadline for PoS agents to formally register their businesses with the Corporate Affairs Commission.
Although the directive was challenged in court, the CAC recently announced that it has commenced taking drastic actions, including shutting down PoS businesses that failed to register.
The directive on PoS business registration comes against the backdrop of frequent fraud incidents involving PoS terminals and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s plans to prevent trading in cryptocurrency or virtual currency.
According to a report by Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc, PoS terminals accounted for 26.37% of fraud incidents in 2023.
