Summary Of The Revised Licence Categorisation For Operators In The Nigerian Payments

1. INTRODUCTION

In December 2020, the Central Bank of Nigeria (the "CBN") published a circular on the licence categorisations for operators in the Nigerian payments system (the "Circular"). Pursuant to the Circular, the payments licensing framework was streamlined into 4 (four) broad categories of permissible activities, namely:

(a) Regulatory Sandbox;

(b) Switching and Processing;

(c) Mobile Money Operations ("MMOs"); and

(d) Payment Solution Services (PSSs).

2. CATEGORIES OF PERMISSIBLE ACTIVITIES

Below is a table showing a summary of the licence changes provided by the Circular: