By Martin Ekpeke
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has expanded the permitted geo-fence radius for Point of Sale (PoS) terminals from 10 meters to 70 meters, offering significant relief to operators across the country’s digital payments ecosystem.
The adjustment was announced in a fresh circular dated May 29, 2026, issued by the CBN’s Payments System Supervision Department and signed by the department’s Director, Dr. Rakiya O. Yusuf. The circular also extended the strict enforcement deadline for the geo-fencing mandate to August 1, 2026.
Beyond a simple regulatory shift, this seven-fold increase in operational distance marks a major victory for millions of agent bankers, merchants, and fintech operators who had raised serious concerns over the practical survival of their businesses.
The expansion from a suffocating 10-meter boundary to a more practical 70-meter radius addresses several critical pain points for operators on the ground
Satellite signals naturally degrade inside crowded markets, concrete shopping complexes, or areas with heavy tree cover. Under the original 10-meter rule, a minor data fluctuation known as GPS drift could trick the system into thinking a terminal had left its approved zone, which triggered automatic operational lockouts. The new 70-meter buffer absorbs these minor technological glitches and ensures continuous business uptime for operators.
Additionally, many PoS operators do not work out of permanent brick-and-mortar shops. In bustling open-air markets, agents frequently walk short distances to meet customers, assist elderly clients, or collect cash from neighboring stalls. A 70-meter radius gives agents the physical flexibility to move within their immediate business vicinity without risking an automatic system shutdown.
Finally, the larger radius provides better infrastructure flexibility for larger businesses. For sizable retail hubs, fuel stations, and multi-story supermarkets, a 10-meter limit meant a PoS terminal could easily deactivate if an employee moved it from a back warehouse to a front checkout counter. The new boundary ensures that an establishment can easily share devices across different departments or floors under a single registration point.
Geo-fencing was originally introduced to combat a massive surge in fintech-related fraud, specifically preventing bad actors from stealing PoS terminals and moving them to remote, untraceable locations or worse, smuggling them across national borders.
While the 10-meter rule was heavily criticized by stakeholders as an idealistic policy that ignored Nigeria’s infrastructural realities, the 70-meter expansion strikes a perfect balance. It is tight enough to ensure a stolen machine cannot be operated outside its immediate neighborhood, yet wide enough to let legitimate business owners breathe.
The apex bank’s circular, addressed to Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), Microfinance Banks (MFBs), Mobile Money Operators (MMOs), and other licensed operators, provides a much-needed breathing room to iron out technical wrinkles.
Financial institutions now have until July 31, 2026, to resolve all backend integration issues with the National Central Switch and submit formal evidence of compliance to the CBN. Full enforcement of the new 70-meter boundary will officially lock into place on August 1, 2026.