The Central Bank of Nigeria has directed banks, fintech companies, mobile money operators, payment processors, and other participants in the country’s digital payments ecosystem to store all payment transaction data generated within Nigeria on local servers from January 1, 2027.
The new directive forms part of a broader regulatory framework aimed at strengthening oversight, enhancing transparency, reducing systemic risks, and improving governance across Nigeria’s rapidly expanding digital payments landscape.
In a circular issued by the CBN’s Payments System Supervision Department and signed by Rakiya O. Yusuf, the director, the apex bank said the measures were necessitated by significant changes in the payments ecosystem, including the rapid growth of electronic transactions and the increasing dominance of some operators in critical payment segments.
According to the circular, “all Financial Institutions and participants facilitating payments within Nigeria shall ensure that payments transaction data generated within Nigeria are stored and managed in Nigeria” in compliance with applicable Nigerian data protection laws. The regulator added that all affected institutions must achieve full compliance by January 1, 2027.
Push for Data Sovereignty
The move represents one of Nigeria’s most significant steps toward data localisation in the financial services sector.
By requiring payment data to remain within the country’s borders, the CBN is seeking to strengthen regulatory visibility, improve cybersecurity oversight, support local digital infrastructure development, and ensure that critical financial information remains subject to Nigerian laws and regulatory controls.
Industry stakeholders say the directive could accelerate investment in local data centres and cloud infrastructure while compelling some financial institutions and fintech firms that rely on foreign-hosted platforms to review their operational models.
Beneficial Ownership Disclosure
Beyond data localisation, the CBN also introduced stricter ownership transparency requirements for payment service providers.
The regulator is requiring operators to disclose beneficial ownership structures and other governance information as part of efforts to improve accountability and address concerns around market concentration within the payments ecosystem.
The central bank noted that while the growth of digital financial services has driven innovation, efficiency, and financial inclusion, it has also created concerns around ownership transparency, operational dependencies, and the concentration of critical payment infrastructure among a limited number of players.
Nigeria’s Expanding Digital Payments Economy
The directive comes at a time when Nigeria’s digital payments sector is witnessing unprecedented growth. The CBN recently reported that transactions processed through the NIBSS Instant Payment platform surged from about five billion in 2022 to nearly 11 billion in 2024, highlighting the increasing adoption of digital financial services across the country.
With payment volumes continuing to grow and fintech innovation accelerating, regulators are increasingly focused on ensuring that governance, transparency, operational resilience, and consumer protection evolve alongside the industry’s expansion.
The latest CBN measures signal a more assertive regulatory approach to managing risks in Nigeria’s digital economy while reinforcing confidence in the country’s payments infrastructure.
