The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is moving to set up a Payment Security Operations Centre that will monitor the country’s digital payment system in real time, detect cyber threats and coordinate rapid responses to financial crimes.
According to Daily Independent, the initiative forms a key part of the newly launched Payment System Vision (PSV) 2028, which took effect on June 1, 2026, under the theme “Empower People, Connect Markets and Grow the Economy.”
The proposed centre would bring together banks, fintechs, payment operators, regulators and law enforcement agencies to identify suspicious transactions and respond quickly to security incidents.
“What happens with technology and innovation is that it increases the velocity of the losses,” the CBN explained, pointing to the greater financial damage possible when electronic payment systems are compromised.
Digital Payment Boom Raises the Stakes
The move comes as Nigeria’s digital payment ecosystem expands rapidly, with transaction value hitting about ₦1.2 quadrillion (around $880.51 billion) by the end of 2025, up from roughly ₦395 trillion in 2022.
Active Point-of-Sale terminals have climbed to 5.9 million, while financial inclusion has risen to 74%, with the CBN targeting 95% by 2028.
However, that same growth widens the reach available to cybercriminals, since a successful attack on a major payment platform can affect millions of users within a short period.
This is the risk the proposed security centre is designed to address, alongside the CBN’s target of 99.999% system availability and near-zero transaction failures by 2028.
‘Security by Design’ Anchors New Payment Strategy
Unlike earlier payment-system roadmaps, PSV 2028 places cybersecurity and resilience at the centre of infrastructure development.
The CBN is adopting what it calls “security by design,” meaning security must be built into payment products from the development stage rather than added later.
This could affect how banks and fintechs roll out new products, as innovations will increasingly need to meet security requirements before wide deployment.
The regulator is also pushing for full interoperability among payment providers, alongside broader goals such as 80% digital payment adoption among Nigerian adults, stronger cross-border payment links, and deeper integration with the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System.
The CBN said the three-year lifespan of PSV 2028, shorter than the decade-long PSV 2020 and five-year PSV 2025, reflects the faster pace of technological change and financial crime.
With transaction values running into the quadrillions of naira, the CBN’s emphasis on security by design and coordinated incident response signals that protecting Nigeria’s payment system is now as important to the regulator as growing it.
