CBN Orders Banks, Fintechs To Disclose Beneficial Owners, Store Data Locally
By Sunday Etuka
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed deposit money banks, fintechs, mobile money operators and other licensed payment providers to disclose the ultimate beneficial owners of significant shareholders, store all Nigeria-generated payment data within the country, and observe new limits on market dominance.
The directive was contained in a Circular dated June 15, 2026, titled “Introduction of Market Structure Requirements, Data Localisation, Ultimate Beneficial Ownership Disclosure, and Systemic Oversight Measures in the Nigerian Payment System.”
It was signed by the Director, Payments System Supervision, Rakiya Yusuf, and addressed to deposit money banks, microfinance banks, mobile money operators, switching and processing companies, payment terminal service providers, payment solution service providers, super agents, and other licensed operators across the payments ecosystem.
In the circular, the apex bank said it has observed significant structural shifts in the payment space, driven by rapid growth in electronic transactions, wider adoption of digital financial services, and the emergence of a handful of operators with substantial market presence across key payment activities.
While crediting growth with driving innovation, efficiency and financial inclusion, the CBN said it has also stoked concerns over market concentration, operational dependence on dominant players, their systemic importance, opacity around who actually owns and controls them, and where critical payment data physically resides.
THREE PILLARS OF THE NEW FRAMEWORK
Beneficial Ownership Disclosure: All deposit money banks, payment service providers and other financial institutions with a digital payments footprint must now disclose the ultimate beneficial owners of significant shareholders, in line with existing anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing and anti-proliferation financing regulations. Institutions must keep these ownership records accurate and current, and produce them for CBN on request.
Data Localisation: Every financial institution and participant involved in facilitating payments in Nigeria must ensure that payment transaction data generated in the country is stored and managed within Nigeria, in accordance with applicable data protection laws. Affected institutions have until January 1, 2027 to comply.
Market Structure Limits: The most consequential change targets operators that dominate both sides of the card transaction chain -issuing cards and accounts to customers and acquiring merchants to process their payments.
Under the new rule, any licensed institution, alone or as part of a group of related entities, that controls more than 25% of the customer issuing market in any rolling 12-month period will be barred from holding more than 15% of the merchant acquiring market over the same period, and the restriction applies in reverse for dominant acquirers. Regulated entities must also begin filling monthly market share returns with the CBN, using templates and timelines to be prescribed.
CBN set December 31, 2026 as deadline for compliance with the market structure rules, one day ahead of the data localisation cutoff. The bank said it would monitor compliance across industry and may impose supervisory sanctions on institutions that fall short, in accordance with applicable laws, regulations and guidelines.
