By Stephen Simon
Banks, fintech companies and other stakeholders in Nigeria’s financial technology sector have called for more time to comply with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive on the localisation of payment transaction data.
The stakeholders said the January 1, 2027 deadline for full compliance could be difficult to meet, arguing that the six-month implementation window was too short for financial institutions and payment service providers to complete the necessary technological and operational changes.
The CBN directive requires banks, fintechs and other payment service providers to store payment transaction data generated within Nigeria locally. The policy is aimed at strengthening oversight of Nigeria’s payment ecosystem and ensuring that relevant financial data remains accessible within the country.
Stakeholders at a financial and technology industry forum in Lagos called for a phased implementation of the directive and continued dialogue between the regulator and industry operators. They said institutions would require sufficient time to assess infrastructure, security, compliance and associated costs.
The data-localisation requirement is expected to have implications for banks and fintech companies that rely on international cloud and data-storage infrastructure. Industry analysts have also linked the policy to potential growth in Nigeria’s data-centre, cloud-services and cybersecurity sectors.
However, operators have raised concerns about the cost and technical demands involved in transferring and maintaining payment data locally, particularly for smaller financial technology companies.
The stakeholders are therefore seeking a structured transition period that would enable financial institutions to meet the CBN’s requirements without disrupting payment services or imposing excessive operational costs on the sector.
