The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed all financial institutions, acquirers, processors, and payment terminal service providers to implement mandatory dual connectivity for Point of Sale (PoS) transactions within one month, in a move aimed at reducing persistent downtime across the country’s electronic payments network.
The directive, contained in a circular dated December 11, 2025 and signed by the Director, Payments System Supervision Department, Rakiya Yusuf, updates a policy first introduced in September 2024. The apex bank said the new requirement is designed to address the recurrent disruptions caused by institutions relying on a single transaction switching channel.
Under the new framework, all affected entities must establish and maintain active connectivity with both the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) and Unified Payment Services Limited (UPSL). The CBN said this redundancy is expected to significantly stabilise PoS transaction success rates by reducing systemic dependence on any one aggregator.
To ensure operational readiness, the bank also mandated periodic redundancy and failover testing. NIBSS and UPSL are required to collaborate with regulated institutions to verify system robustness, with test results forming part of the CBN’s ongoing supervisory oversight.
The policy introduces enhanced incident-reporting obligations as well. “NIBSS and UPSL must notify banks immediately during any downtime and submit a detailed incident report to the Payments System Supervision Department within 24 hours, outlining the cause, impact, and corrective actions taken,” the circular stated.
The regulator said these measures are critical to safeguarding transaction stability, protecting merchants, and reinforcing public confidence in the national payments architecture.
