If you’re that person who moves your POS machine from one location to another like a traveling salesman, bad news: the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) just banned that waka-waka lifestyle.
On August 25, 2025, CBN dropped a new directive; every Point-of-Sale (POS) terminal, from Moniepoint, OPay, PalmPay, to mobile money operators in the country, over 4.2 million of them, must now be geo-tagged (fancy way of saying: “tell us your exact GPS location”) within 60 days or be shut down.
How does it work?
Every POS device has to be tied to one business address and can only operate within a 10-metre radius.
Devices used outside of their registered location will be automatically shut down.
Old machines will be upgraded with GPS tracking, while new ones will come with the feature built in before activation.
All POS terminals must connect to the National Central Switch, where a special software development kit (SDK) monitors them in real time.
Why is the CBN doing this?
The POS boom has been massive. As of 2023, Nigeria had 1.5 million POS agents, that’s one agent for every 80 people, with some areas recording up to 1,600 agents per square kilometre.
But with rapid growth came new problems:
Fraudulent or “ghost” POS terminals.
Cloned machines used to scam customers.
Agents moving devices around, making regulation difficult.
By enforcing geo-tagging, the CBN hopes to:
Pinpoint exactly where transactions are happening.
Shut down fraudulent or unregistered devices.
Build more trust and transparency in the payment system.
Not the first reform
This isn’t coming out of the blue. In 2023, the CBN had already:
Ordered that all POS transactions go through licensed Payment Terminal Service Aggregators (PTSA).
Mandated POS operators to register with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
Geo-tagging is the next step in tightening oversight of an industry that millions rely on daily. Basically, the CBN is slowly saying: “No more free-for-all. If you want to run a POS terminal, follow structure.”
Read also: All You Need to Know as Open Banking Prepares to Launch in August
What does this mean for you?
For agents: You’ll need to fix your machine to your registered address. No more switching locations without approval.
For customers: Expect safer transactions and fewer scams, your payment is less likely to vanish into a ghost terminal.
For fraudsters: Otilo.
For the system as a whole: Stronger rules mean more confidence in digital payments, which is crucial as physical cash use continues to shrink.
The big picture
CBN isn’t clamping down for the sake of control alone. With millions of Nigerians depending on POS transactions every day, the goal is to protect the integrity of the financial system. By curbing fraud and enforcing order, CBN wants to make sure POS remains a safe, reliable bridge for payments.
So yes, POS is still king in Nigeria, but from now on, it’s king with a fixed address, not a roaming monarch.
Your takeaway: From October, every POS in Nigeria must stay geo-tagged. No more ghost machines, no more mystery terminals, just safer payments for everyone.