The Central Bank of Nigeria has warned banks, switching companies, and other relevant parties in the Nigerian payment system against discrimination between payment cards issued by Nigerian banks.

It said this in a circular to all banks, switching companies, and others, dated 5th December 2022, and signed by the CBN’s Director, Payments System Management Department, Musa Jimoh.

The circular was titled, ‘Re: Interoperability and interconnectivity of the payments system infrastructure in Nigeria’, the apex bank said the circular was a reminder of some of the provisions of its guidelines on operations of electronic payment channels in Nigeria.

It stated;

“The Central Bank of Nigeria has observed that a number of the acceptance devices deployed by banks discriminate between payment cards.

“For the avoidance of doubt, all certified payment acceptance devices deployed in Nigeria are required to accept all transactions arising from any card issued by any Nigerian bank.”

CBN noted that the circular served as a reminder of the following provisions of the guidelines on operations of electronic payment channels.