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ARTICLE · 15 APRIL 2026

Key Regulatory Update: CBN Guidelines On Instant Payment Functionalities And Mobile Banking Security

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On 12 March 2026, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued a circular (the "Circular") to all financial institutions (FIs) offering Instant Payment (IP) services in Nigeria.

NigeriaFinance and Banking
Aderonke Alex-Adedipe
Aderonke Alex-Adedipe
Mark Imonitie
Mark Imonitie

Introduction

On 12 March 2026, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued a circular (the “Circular”) to all financial institutions (FIs) offering Instant Payment (IP) services in Nigeria.

The Circular provides the CBN’s Guidelines on instant payments and introduces sweeping measures to strengthen IP operations, enhance security protocols, improve consumer protection, and align with global best practices. This newsletter highlights the key provisions introduced by the Guidelines.

  1. VOLUNTARY OPT-IN AND OPT-OUT FUNCTION

Under the existing framework, FIs are not mandated to provide a feature on their mobile banking application, enabling customers to voluntarily opt in or out of IP services.

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