Half of surveyed banks, fintechs never start data localisation before January deadline
- NITDA survey find say 22 out of 44 financial institutions never start to store payment data inside Nigeria.
- CBN talk say more than half of di respondents report say dem ready for January 1, 2027 deadline.
- Regulators talk say dem need clearer rules on wetin count as payment transaction data.
Half of di financial institutions wey National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) survey don never start work to keep payment data inside Nigeria, as di January 1, 2027 deadline dey about nine weeks away.
Di survey cover 44 banks, fintechs and payment providers. Twenty-two never begin to implement di data localisation rules, according to findings wey dem present for one regulatory dialogue for Lagos on Wednesday.
NITDA and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) organize di event and e bring regulators, bank executives, fintech operators and technology providers together.
Dr Muhammad Aminu Lawal, Special Assistant on Digital Transformation to NITDA Director-General Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, present di results. He summarize di gap simply: “Mapping don finish; budgets, contracts and migration dey lag.”
Wetin di survey find
Twenty-six institutions, or 59 per cent, talk say dem don finish di required steps or expect to finish by di deadline. Fifteen talk say e unlikely or very unlikely say dem go make am, and three no fit talk.
Di presentation class 59 per cent as on track and 34 per cent as at risk. E stress say di answers na self-reported, anonymised and no be formal compliance check.
Most institutions know wetin data fall under di rules: 70 per cent don identify di data and systems involved, and 52 per cent don map where dem dey hosted. Far fewer don move to action. Only 25 per cent get board or executive approval and budget, 23 per cent don sign up local providers, and 18 per cent don begin move systems.
Unclear rules na big brake. Sixty-four per cent want definition of “payment transaction data”, and 38 per cent ask wetin e mean for data to be “stored and managed in Nigeria”. Twenty-nine institutions talk say their preparations depend on getting that clarity.
Half talk say dem dey work on assumptions while dem wait, and 16 per cent talk say material work dey on hold.
Why e matter
CBN want payment data wey dem create for Nigeria to dey stored and managed locally so e fit oversee transactions and step in when needed. Rakiya Opemi Yusuf, director of CBN's Payment System Supervision Department, talk say di regulator need to see who start payment, wetin dem pay and whether e go through.
She talk say di rule no force foreign recipients of cross-border payments to hand over details of their own customers.
CBN Deputy Governor for Financial System Stability Lamido Abubakar Yuguda warn say localisation alone no go keep di system safe. “Localisation alone no guarantee security,” he talk, adding say banks still responsible for risks from third-party technology providers.
On enforcement, CBN talk say e prefer to work with institutions and sanctions no be im first step, though deliberate disregard go attract penalties. Dem no announce any change to di deadline.
Institutions ask regulators for phased or risk-based milestones, clear exceptions process and written guidance on existing contracts. Di survey talk say compliance “within reach for about six in 10, not yet for di rest”, with clarity as di critical path.
Wetin happen next: CBN talk say e dey analyse survey feedback and go weigh suggestions on their merits. Until written guidance land, many institutions likely go keep planning rather than migrating.
