The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has mandated financial institutions to provide detailed monthly returns on the operations of their point-of-sale (POS) agents, as part of measures to tighten supervision and reduce risks in the country’s expanding agent banking sector.

In a circular signed by the Director of the Payments System Policy Department, Musa Jimoh, the apex bank said the reports must capture comprehensive information on the nature, volume and value of transactions executed by agents.

The returns are expected not later than the 10th day of each subsequent month.

According to the directive, banks must disclose cases of fraud, theft, or robbery at agent locations, as well as the nature and number of customer complaints received, and actions taken to address them.

They are also required to categorise active agents into individual and non-individual groups, and provide a schedule of operational breaches and exceptions.

Other mandatory information includes full agent details such as phone numbers, email addresses, Bank Verification Numbers, Tax Identification Numbers, business addresses, states and geopolitical zones.

Technical specifications of electronic devices deployed, including terminal IDs, original equipment manufacturer details and serial numbers, must also be submitted.

The CBN further stipulated that records of agent training on anti-money laundering, counter-financing of terrorism, fraud detection, reconciliation, counterfeit identification and customer service must be included. Documentation of on-site visits and any exceptions observed during such visits is equally compulsory.

The central bank said it reserves the right to request further information on any aspect of agent banking operations as it deems fit.

The circular also restated the daily transaction limits introduced in December 2024. POS agents are now restricted to a maximum of N1.2 million per day, while individual customers are limited to N100,000 in daily transactions. These guidelines are designed to prevent misuse, strengthen financial integrity and protect consumers using the agent banking channel.

The CBN has been implementing various reforms to combat fraud and improve monitoring of transactions across the payments ecosystem. In August, it issued a directive requiring all payment system participants to migrate to the ISO 20022 messaging standard and implement mandatory geo-tagging of payment terminals by October 31, 2025.

The new standard, which has been adopted globally by Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), is intended to harmonise data quality across Nigeria’s financial system and align the country with international best practices.