Banks, payment firms given one month to connect PoS terminals to NIBSS and UPSL
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed all acquirers, processors, and Payment Terminal Service Providers (PTSPs) to implement mandatory dual connectivity with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) and Unified Payment Services Limited (UPSL) for all Point of Sale (PoS) transactions.
The directive was issued in a circular dated December 11, 2025, signed by Rakiya Yusuf, Director of the Payments System Supervision Department, and released on Friday.
According to the circular, all affected operators must establish and maintain active connections with both licensed Payment Terminal Service Aggregators (PTSAs) to ensure continuity of PoS services nationwide.
“All acquirers, processors, and Payment Terminal Service Providers shall establish and maintain active connectivity with both licensed Payment Terminal Service Aggregators, namely NIBSS and Unified Payment Services Limited,” the CBN stated.
The apex bank also mandated that transaction routing systems be fully integrated with both platforms to guarantee automatic failover in the event of system downtime or service disruptions.
To strengthen system resilience, the CBN said periodic testing and validation exercises would be conducted jointly by NIBSS, UPSL, and regulated financial institutions.
“NIBSS and UPSL, in collaboration with regulated financial institutions, shall conduct periodic tests to validate redundancy, failover effectiveness, and overall system resilience,” the regulator said.
In addition, the CBN directed both payment aggregators to provide real-time notifications to banks whenever service disruptions occur.
The circular further requires NIBSS and UPSL to formally notify the Director of the Payments System Supervision Department within 24 hours of any downtime, detailing the cause, nature of the disruption, 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.
The latest move follows an earlier directive issued on September 11, in which the apex bank instructed payment service providers (PSPs) to route all PoS transactions at merchant and agent locations through NIBSS and UPSL, as part of efforts to improve transaction reliability and reduce service failures.
