The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed banks and other financial institutions to restrict the use of mobile banking applications to a single device per customer.
Under the new rule, customers will no longer be able to operate the same banking app simultaneously on multiple devices.
The directive was contained in a circular issued to financial institutions and payment service providers outlining additional guidelines for instant payment operations in Nigeria. The circular was signed by Musa Jimoh, Director of the CBN’s Payments System Policy Department.
According to the apex bank, mobile financial service apps must now have mandatory device binding, meaning an app can only function on one registered device at a time. If a customer switches to another device, the application will require fresh authentication and reactivation.
The CBN also stated that customers will have the option to opt in or opt out of instant payment services at any time. However, such changes will require multi-factor authentication (MFA). When a customer opts out, instant online transfers will be disabled, though transfers can still be carried out by visiting a bank branch.
The new framework also allows customers to voluntarily adjust their transaction limits, subject to the existing caps of ₦25 million for individuals and ₦250 million for corporate accounts, and after additional risk assessment by financial institutions.
To further combat fraud, banks are required to implement enterprise fraud monitoring systems to track suspicious inflows and outflows.
The guidelines also introduce liveliness checks for online account opening and reactivation, with real-time validation against the National Identity Management Commission (NIN) and Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (BVN) databases.
Additionally, newly activated mobile banking apps will be subject to transaction limits of up to ₦20,000 within the first 24 hours, for both new and existing accounts.
The CBN said the measures represent the minimum standards for instant payments in Nigeria, adding that full implementation will begin on July 1, 2026.