The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued a circular on August 25th, 2025, mandating the migration to the ISO 20022 Standard for Payment Messaging and the mandatory geo-tagging of all payment terminals. The primary objective of this geo-tagging initiative is to link every terminal to a specific, known location. This measure is intended to facilitate easier detection of suspicious movements, thereby improving fraud investigations, dispute resolution, oversight, and market planning.

Nigeria is striving to create a cleaner, safer, and more traceable agent banking and merchant ecosystem, a goal directly supported by the CBN's geo-tagging directive. An EFInA–IFC policy brief has acknowledged these potential benefits, reinforcing that geo-tagging can enhance integrity and trust within the financial system.

The brief also highlighted how geo-tagging can strengthen supervision and market discipline, support financial inclusion planning, and deepen operational resilience across the Point-of-Sale (POS) ecosystem. The sheer scale of this ecosystem is significant, with over 7.26 million terminals deployed and 3.65 million active terminals recorded as of October 10, 2025.

Given this extensive network, the implementation of the geo-tagging policy must be strategic. The EFInA–IFC brief cautions that a rapid or blunt rollout could lead to service disruptions, difficulties in accessing cash, agent attrition, and risks to business continuity, especially in rural and low-income regions. The central question remains whether the reform is being implemented in a manner that safeguards the legitimate economic activities already occurring at the last mile.