WorldStage— The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed banks, payment service providers (PSPs) and other financial institutions involved in digital payment operations to store and manage payment transaction data generated in Nigeria within the country.
The directive was contained in a circular signed by the Director of the Payments System Supervision Department, Rakiya Yusuf, on Monday.
According to the apex bank, all financial institutions facilitating payments in Nigeria must ensure that payment transaction data generated within the country are stored and managed locally in compliance with applicable data protection laws.
The new requirement will take effect on January 1, 2027.
The CBN also directed banks, PSPs and other financial institutions to disclose the ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO) of significant shareholders in line with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations.
It said affected institutions must maintain accurate and up-to-date ownership records and make them available to the regulator whenever requested.
In addition, the apex bank instructed regulated entities to submit monthly market share returns using prescribed templates and timelines.
The financial institutions have until December 31, 2026, to comply with the new market structure requirements.
CBN warned that it would monitor compliance and impose supervisory sanctions on defaulting institutions in accordance with applicable laws, regulations and guidelines.
The directive follows the bank’s recent decision to limit the market share of financial institutions involved in card issuing and merchant acquiring services.
Under the policy, any financial institution controlling more than 25 per cent of the card issuing market will be restricted to a maximum of 15 per cent of the merchant acquiring market.
Similarly, financial institutions with more than 25 per cent of the merchant acquiring market will be limited to 15 per cent of the card issuing segment.
