CBN sets deadline for PoS integration with NIBSS, UPSL

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed all acquirers, processors, and Payment Terminal Service Providers (PTSPs) to implement mandatory dual connectivity for point-of-sale (PoS) transactions within one month.

Under the new directive, service providers are required to connect their systems to both the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) and Unified Payment Services Limited (UPSL) to ensure smoother and more reliable transaction processing.

The directive was conveyed in a circular dated December 11, 2025, signed by Rakiya Yusuf, Director of the CBN’s Payments System Supervision Department, and released on Friday..

According to the apex bank, all operators in the PoS ecosystem must connect and maintain active links with the two licensed Payments Terminal Service Aggregators to guarantee seamless transaction processing and system resilience.

The CBN further mandated that transaction routing systems must be fully integrated with NIBSS and UPSL to enable automatic failover whenever there is downtime or service disruption on either platform, ensuring uninterrupted PoS services nationwide.

The circular also directed both NIBSS and UPSL, working alongside regulated financial institutions, to carry out regular testing and validation exercises to confirm the effectiveness of redundancy mechanisms and overall system stability.

In addition, the apex bank instructed the two aggregators to notify affected banks and the Payments System Supervision Department in real time whenever there is a system outage.

Such notifications, the CBN said, must be formally communicated within 24 hours, detailing the nature of the disruption, its causes and the remedial actions taken.

The CBN warned that all regulated financial institutions and service providers must comply fully with the directive within one month from the date of issuance.

The latest move follows a similar directive issued on September 11, when the apex bank instructed payment service providers to route all PoS transactions at merchant and agent locations through NIBSS and UPSL as part of efforts to strengthen oversight, improve transaction reliability and protect consumers