The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Friday announced new guidelines limiting mobile banking applications to a single device per customer.
Under the new directive, customers will no longer be able to operate the same bank app on multiple devices at the same time within Nigeria.
The policy was outlined in a circular sent to all banks, other financial institutions, and payment service providers, introducing additional rules for instant payments in the country.
The circular, signed by the CBN’s Director of the Payments System Policy Department, Musa Jimoh, stated that all institutions offering instant payment services must comply with the new requirements.
According to the directive, mobile financial service apps must be linked to only one device at a time. If a customer changes devices, the system will automatically require reactivation and authentication.
Customers will also have the option to opt in or opt out of instant payment services at any time, but this will require multi-factor authentication. By default, new customers will be enrolled in the service.
When a customer opts out, they will not be able to make online instant transfers (intra- or interbank), though they can still carry out transactions by physically visiting their financial institution.
The CBN also introduced voluntary transaction limits, allowing customers to adjust their limits within the existing caps of N25 million for individuals and N250 million for corporate accounts, subject to enhanced due diligence and risk assessment.
Additional measures include enterprise fraud monitoring for all inflows and outflows, real-time verification of online account openings and reactivations using BVN and NIN databases, and stronger authentication methods such as biometrics and tokens.
New accounts activated through mobile apps will have transaction limits for the first 24 hours, capped at N20,000, while similar restrictions will apply to newly activated apps for existing accounts.
For internet banking, first-time login on a new device will require additional multi-factor authentication.
The CBN stated that these measures represent minimum standards for instant payments in Nigeria and will take effect from July 1, 2026.