The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is reshaping Nigeria’s payments ecosystem with its June 2026 Circular introducing new market structure, data localisation, beneficial ownership, and systemic oversight requirements. The Circular seeks to promote fair competition, strengthen corporate transparency, enhance data sovereignty, and reinforce regulatory oversight across the financial sector. However, it also raises important questions about its interaction with existing competition, data protection, and corporate governance frameworks, with significant implications for banks, payment service providers, fintechs, investors, and other industry participants.
In this article, we examine the Circular’s key provisions, analyse the legal and commercial implications of the new requirements, and highlight the practical steps affected institutions should take ahead of the compliance deadlines.
To unpack what the Circular means for market participants, the compliance challenges it presents, and the practical steps institutions should be taking now, click here to continue reading.