CBN Initiates Local Data Hosting for Payments Transactions

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has commenced the process of migrating payments transaction data currently hosted outside the country to local hosting in Nigeria, aiming for national data sovereignty. On June 15, 2026, CBN issued a circular mandating all financial institutions and fintech companies to migrate their payments transaction data generated within Nigeria back to the country, with a compliance deadline set for January 1, 2027.

Despite this directive, many fintech companies expressed skepticism about the feasibility of the migration, citing fears of data loss and concerns over the security of local data centers. During the ‘CloudReady Nigeria Financial Services Roundtable’ in Lagos, CBN reaffirmed that the January 1, 2027 deadline is non-negotiable.

Dr. Rakiya Opemi Yusuf, Director of Payments Systems Supervision at CBN, emphasized the importance of compliance, while Mr. Babatunde Ajiboye, Assistant Director in the same department, represented her at the event. CBN also revealed that it is migrating its own sensitive payments transaction data back to Nigeria.