CBN ends offshore payment processing as banks, fintechs face 2027 data localisation deadline
The Central Bank of Nigeria has told banks and fintechs to bring payment processing home. In a directive that signals a firm shift in how financial data moves across borders, the CBN is requiring that payment transactions involving Nigerian customers be processed on Nigerian soil, with a compliance deadline set for 2027.
The policy puts an end to the long-standing practice of routing local payments through offshore infrastructure, something that has been common across the industry for years. For many fintechs and traditional banks operating in Nigeria, that shift will mean real investment in local data centres, technology partnerships, and compliance frameworks before the clock runs out.
Data localisation is not a new conversation on the continent, but Nigeria pushing it into the payments space with a hard deadline gives it new weight. The CBN's move aligns with a broader push to keep sensitive financial data within the country's regulatory reach, and to reduce the vulnerabilities that come with processing Nigerian transactions on foreign servers.
Three years sounds like a comfortable runway, but anyone who has watched Nigerian financial institutions scramble before a regulatory deadline knows how quickly that window closes. The real story will be in how the industry organises itself, and whether the local infrastructure can scale fast enough to meet the moment.
Originally published by BusinessDay.