The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a directive requiring all Point of Sale (PoS) operators to route their transactions through licensed Payment Terminal Service Aggregators (PTSAs). This move is aimed at improving the tracking and management of electronic transactions across the country.
In a circular posted on Thursday, the CBN explained that the directive follows concerns about relying on a single aggregator for PoS transactions. To address these concerns, the CBN granted a second PTSA license to Unified Payment Services Limited in April 2024, in addition to the initial license held by Nigeria Interbank Settlement System Plc since 2011.
The circular outlined several key directives:
1. **Mandatory Routing through Aggregators:** All acquirers (institutions responsible for processing PoS payments) must now route transactions through one of the two licensed PTSAs.
2. **Certified Processors:** PTSAs must only send PoS transactions to processors certified by relevant payment schemes and licensed by the CBN.
3. **Integration of PTSPs:** Payment terminal service providers (PTSPs), responsible for deploying and managing PoS terminals, must ensure that their devices are compatible with any PTSA selected by the acquirers.
4. **Monthly Reporting:** Both PTSPs and PTSAs are required to submit monthly reports to the CBN. PTSPs must report the number of merchants and agents they manage, while PTSAs must report all transactions processed through their platforms. These reports must be submitted to the CBN’s Payments System Management Department within seven days of the end of each month.
The CBN has given PoS operators and payment service providers 30 days to comply with these new regulations, warning that failure to do so will result in sanctions.
This new policy follows a recent directive from the Corporate Affairs Commission, which mandated that all PoS operators must register with the commission by September 5, 2024.
