PoS operators kick over CBN’s geofencing directive, concern may diminish income

Operators of PoS are uncomfortable about the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directive that all point-of-sale terminals be geofenced, insisting that the new rule will reduce their transaction volume.

The CBN has mandated all participants in the nation’s payments ecosystem to migrate fully to the ISO 20022 messaging standard and geo-tag all payment terminals before October 31, 2025.

According to the directive, POS operations will be limited to a 10 meters radius of the registered address, a situation operators say would prevent them from moving their devices from shop to home.

Geo-tagging refers to the process of attaching geographical location information (latitude and longitude coordinates) to payment devices such as Point-of-Sale (PoS) terminals. With this technology, regulators and operators can know where a PoS terminal is located at the time of use, ensuring that it matches the registered business address.

Doing so according to the CBN makes it easier to prevent fraudsters from moving devices to unauthorized locations for illegal transactions.