Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), fintechs, and other payment service providers, operating in the country to begin storing their payment transaction data generated within the country on local servers, effective January 1, 2027.

CBN aims to make Nigerian fintechs and banks to invest in local data infrastructure.

Ad >>>

The directive, contained in a circular signed by Payments System Supervision Department Director Rakiya Yusuf, also introduced new market structure rules, beneficial ownership disclosure requirements, and systemic oversight measures.

The CBN cited rapid growth in electronic payments and concerns around market concentration, operational dependence, and data sovereignty.

With this directive, it is expected that local or Nigerian payment and transaction data will no longer be domiciled on foreign servers, further strengthening data sovereignty.

Also, the directive states that any operator with over 25 per cent market share in card issuing cannot hold more than 15 per cent in merchant acquiring.

According to CBN, non-compliance will attract supervisory sanctions.