The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has ordered all Point of Sale (PoS) operators and payment service providers to establish dual connectivity with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) and Unified Payment Services Limited (UPSL) within 30 days, as part of efforts to address persistent transaction failures in the payment ecosystem.
The directive, contained in a circular dated December 2025, was issued under reference number PSS/DIR/PUB/CIR/001/002 and signed by the Director of the Payments System Supervision Department of the CBN, Mrs Rakiya Yusuf. It applies to all acquirers, processors, payment terminal service aggregators and providers operating in Nigeria.
According to the apex bank, the move builds on its September 2024 policy decision to eliminate reliance on single transaction routing channels, a practice it identified as a major contributor to recurring service disruptions across Nigeria’s cashless payment system.
