CBN explains directive on capping new mobile banking transfers for 24 hours

*The Central Bank of Nigeria affirms the fresh measures capping transactions on newly activated mobile banking applications at N20,000 within first 24 hours, are to curb fraud and improve the resilience of digital payment channels in the economy

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

As part of practical measures to tighten Bank Verification Number (BVN) rules, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has explained new measures on capping mobile banking applications are aimed at strengthening security in Nigeria’s instant payment ecosystem.

ConsumerConnect reports the CBN recently capped transactions on newly activated mobile banking applications at N20,000 within the first 24 hours of activation.

The Bank stated the directive, issued in a circular dated March 12, 2026, and addressed to Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BOFI), and payment service providers, formed part of additional safeguards.

The banking sector said it introduced these measures to curb fraud and improve the resilience of digital payment channels.

The Bankers’ Bank also disclosed the implementation of the new provisions would commence July 1, 2026.

This is said to allowed Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), and payment service providers time to align their systems with the updated requirements.

It further explained that under the new rules, financial institutions must impose transaction limits on newly activated mobile financial service applications during the first 24 hours of activation.

According to CBN, the new limit will apply to both inflows and outflows for newly opened accounts, which must not exceed N20,000.

It, however, stated that DMBs might set lower thresholds, based on their internal risk frameworks.

The circular further noted that for existing bank customers activating mobile banking applications on a new device, the CBN directed banks to impose an outflow transaction limit for the first 24 hours, also capped at same N20,000.

The banking sector regulator as well said the move was designed to mitigate risks associated with account takeover, identity theft and unauthorised device migration, which have become increasingly common as digital financial services expand across Nigeria.

Fresh limit on operating banking app on mobile devices

Besides, the CBN introduced mandatory device binding for mobile banking applications, requiring customers to operate their banking app on only one device at a time.

The Bank directed that customers would no longer be allowed to use mobile banking applications concurrently across multiple devices.

It also emphasised that migration to a new device would automatically trigger a fresh authentication and reactivation process to verify the identity of the account holder.

The as well directed financial institutions to enforce additional multi-factor authentication for first-time logins to Internet banking platforms on new devices.

Beyond device restrictions, the circular also required all financial institutions to deploy enterprise fraud monitoring systems capable of tracking both incoming and outgoing transactions in real time. The monitoring systems, the circular noted, are expected to enable banks to detect suspicious activity early, and restrict potentially fraudulent transactions.

The Bank equally tightened requirements for online account opening and reactivation processes.

It said accounts opened digitally must undergo liveliness checks to confirm that the individual initiating the process is physically present.

It stated that all online account opening and account reactivation processes must also be validated in real time with the Bank Verification Number and National Identity Number databases.

Besides, CBN directed financial institutions  directed to adopt enhanced authentication mechanisms, such as biometric verification, soft tokens, hard tokens, and other multi-factor authentication controls for online account reactivation.

Customers get option to opt out of instant transfers

The CBN, in the circular, however, also introduced a voluntary opt-out and opt-in feature for instant payment services, allowing customers to temporarily disable instant transfers on their accounts.

Under the rule, customers will be able to opt out of instant payment services at any time and for any period of their choice, subject to multi-factor authentication.

By implication, when a customer activates the opt-out option, online instant transfers, both within the same bank and across banks will be disabled.

However, customers will still be able to carry out transfers by visiting their financial institution physically.

The default setting for new customers will remain opt-in upon account onboarding.

The circular also allows customers to voluntarily adjust their transaction limits within the existing maximum thresholds of N25 million for individuals and N250 million for corporate accounts.

Any adjustment must undergo enhanced due diligence and risk assessment by the financial institution before taking effect.

The CBN said the new measures represented the minimum operational standards for instant payment services in Nigeria’s financial system.

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