The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed acquirers, processors, Payment Terminal Service Aggregators and Payment Terminal Service Providers (PTSPs) to establish dual connectivity for Point-of-Sale (PoS) transactions with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) and Unified Payment Services Limited (UPSL) within one month.
The directive was contained in a circular signed by the Director of the Payments System Supervision Department, Dr. Rakiya Yusuf, and issued to address concerns associated with routing PoS transactions through a single aggregator.
According to the CBN, all acquirers, processors and PTSPs are required to establish and maintain active connectivity with both licensed Payment Terminal Service Aggregators, NIBSS and UPSL, as part of measures to enhance system resilience and reliability.
The apex bank also mandated automatic failover configuration, requiring PoS transaction routing systems to seamlessly switch between the two aggregators during downtime or service disruptions.
It further directed NIBSS and UPSL, in collaboration with regulated financial institutions, to conduct periodic testing to validate redundancy, failover effectiveness and overall system stability.
Read Also:
Unregistered PoS Operators Risk Shutdown as CAC Issues New Directive
FG Ends Physical Cash Payments, Orders PoS Deployment Across MDAs in 45 Days
Ganduje Backs Nationwide Digital Skills Training for Nigerian Youth — A+AROAMS Foundation
Under the new framework, both aggregators are required to notify banks in real time of any system downtime or service disruption. They must also report such incidents to the Director of the Payments System Supervision Department within 24 hours, detailing the nature, cause and remedial actions taken.
The CBN stressed that all regulated financial institutions must comply with the directive within one month from the date of the circular, warning that the measure is aimed at strengthening the resilience of Nigeria’s PoS payment infrastructure and reducing transaction failures nationwide.
(Vanguard)