CBN sets 1-month deadline for PoS operators to switch to aggregators

An hand and a pos machine

The Central Bank of Nigeria has mandated that all POS operators route transactions through licensed payment terminal service aggregators.

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According to a circular released on the CBN's website on Thursday, the measure is intended to improve the country's electronic transaction tracking and administration capabilities.

"On April 19, 2024, the CBN awarded Unified Payment Services Limited a second PTSA licence in order to address concerns about channeling all Point of Sale transactions through a single aggregator.

To further the aforementioned, the CBN hereby directs the following: 1 Acquirers must now route all transactions from PoS terminals at merchant and agent locations, whether they are electronic or physical PoS terminals, through any Payment Terminal Service Aggregator licensed by the CBN. PTSAs must only send PoS transactions to Processors licensed by the CBN, nominated by the Acquirer, and certified by the relevant Payment Scheme.

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 It was mentioned that a PTSA license was given to Nigeria Interbank Settlement System Plc in 2011 so that it could manage the aggregate of PoS transactions.

Earlier this year in April, Unified Payment Services Limited was awarded a second PTSA licence by the CBN in response to concerns regarding the routing of all transactions through a single aggregator.

Nigeria Interbank Settlement System Plc was awarded a Payment Terminal Service Aggregator license by the Central Bank of Nigeria in August 2011 in order to fulfill the goal of tracking electronic transactions in the country. In an attempt to allay worries about using a single aggregator for all Point of Sale transactions, Unified Payment Services Limited was awarded a second PTSA license by the CBN on April 19, 2024.

All acquirers—the organizations in charge of handling payments from PoS terminals—must route transactions through one of the two authorized aggregators, under the directive of the CBN.
To provide acquirers the freedom to select their preferred service providers, licensed processors must also connect with both PTSAs.

It was mentioned that payment terminal service providers, who are in charge of setting up and maintaining PoS terminals, have to make sure their hardware and software are set up to function with any PTSA that the acquirers select.

The CBN states that PTSPs must also provide monthly reports to the CBN that include information on the number of agents and merchants they oversee, as well as the PTSA services that are utilized.

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In a similar vein, all PTSAs are required by CBN to submit monthly reports detailing all transactions that are conducted through their systems.

The director of the Payments System Management Department must receive the reports, per the apex bank, within seven days of the end of each month.

The CBN threatened to take necessary action if any PSPs did not regularize their operations with the PTSAs within 30 days after issuing the mandate.

Recall that on July 7, the Corporate Affairs Commission declared that all Point of Sale providers in the nation needed to register with them by September 5 at the latest.

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