HALF of the Nigerian financial institutions surveyed by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) have yet to begin implementing the Central Bank of Nigeria’s payment data localisation requirements, exposing gaps in preparations ahead of the January 1, 2027 deadline.
Findings presented at a joint regulatory dialogue in Lagos on October 28 showed that 22 of 44 respondents had not started implementation, although 26 institutions, representing 59 per cent, said they had completed the necessary work or expected to finish on time.
Introduced through a CBN circular on 15 June, the directive requires banks, mobile money operators, payment processors and other licensed participants to store and manage payment transaction data generated in Nigeria within the country. This potentially requires changes to cloud hosting, backup systems and technology contracts.
Implementation remains uneven, despite indications that domestic infrastructure providers can accommodate additional demand. Only 25 percent of surveyed financial institutions had secured executive approval and budgets, 23 percent had contracted local providers, and 18 percent had begun migration or remediation. Meanwhile, 79 per cent of responding infrastructure providers reported capacity to take on new financial-sector workloads.
Regulatory uncertainty adds to the challenge, with 64 percent of financial institutions requesting a clearer definition of payment transaction data and 38 percent seeking clarification on what domestic management requires.
CBN Payments System Supervision Director Rakiya Yusuf said the regulator would consider institutions’ implementation difficulties while retaining sanctions for deliberate non-compliance. ‘Indeed, the Central Bank of Nigeria issued a circular that speaks to localising the data, the payments data in Nigeria effective 1st of January 2027,’ Yusuf told stakeholders at the dialogue. ‘And there have been several conversations around it, concerns and clarity to be provided. So we want to have a joint conversation and planned this event to be a dialogue platform that provide clarity and to speak to every stakeholder that we all need to come together to ensure that 1st of January 2027 is a reality.’
She noted that the survey showed more than 50 per cent of the industry were ready to comply. ‘And ultimately we’re looking forward that by 2027 January that everyone will be on board to have a data, payments data localised. Because it’s about our sovereignty, it’s about clarity, it’s about visibility over our transaction data. And it’s about ensuring financial system stability, which is the mandate of the Central Bank of Nigeria.’
On enforcement, Yusuf stressed a collaborative approach. ‘Sanctions is really not the first in our mind when it comes to enforcement. So what is really first in our mind is to ensure that everybody is hand-holding to be able to achieve compliance with the regulation. However, where we see that there’s a deliberate attempt to scuttle it, of course sanctions will come. There will be sanctions for non-compliance.’
She highlighted the strengthening of oversight following the creation of the Payment System Supervision Department in 2025 under Governor Olayemi Cardoso, equipping examiners to supervise the ecosystem effectively. Yusuf also confirmed that the bulk of CBN’s own data is already localised, with remaining secondary data being brought onshore.
The dialogue brought together banks, fintechs, infrastructure providers and international investors, underscoring the collective push to meet the deadline and safeguard Nigeria’s financial system.