The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced a set of new regulations for instant payment services, including a rule that restricts mobile banking applications to one device per customer at any given time.

The directive was outlined in a circular released on Friday by the bank’s Payments System Policy Department and signed by its Director, Musa Jimoh. The circular was addressed to banks and other stakeholders in Nigeria’s financial sector.

Under the updated guidelines, bank customers will no longer be able to use the same mobile banking app simultaneously on multiple devices.

According to the CBN, the new measures are part of broader efforts to strengthen the country’s instant payment system and enhance financial security. The policy is scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2026.

The bank explained that all financial institutions providing instant payment services must introduce several additional security features.

A key requirement is mandatory device binding, which means a mobile financial services application can only be activated on one device at a time. If a customer chooses to switch devices, the application must undergo a fresh activation and authentication process.

Customers will also be given the option to opt in or opt out of instant payment services for any specific period. However, this process must be verified through multi-factor authentication (MFA). By default, customers will be automatically enrolled in instant payment services when opening a new account.

While in opt-out mode, customers will not be able to perform online instant transfers between accounts. Nevertheless, they can still visit their bank physically to carry out such transactions.

The guidelines also introduce voluntary transaction limits. Customers may adjust their transfer limits within the current maximum caps of N25 million for individuals and N250 million for corporate accounts. Any change to these limits will require enhanced due diligence and risk assessment by the financial institution, along with customer consent through multi-factor authentication.

In addition, the CBN has directed banks to implement enterprise fraud monitoring systems to track both incoming and outgoing transactions, enabling faster detection and restriction of suspicious activities.

For online account openings or reactivations, financial institutions must conduct liveliness checks and verify customer details in real time using the BVN and NIN databases. Banks are also required to adopt stronger authentication measures such as biometric verification, soft or hard tokens, and other MFA tools.

The new framework further places temporary limits on transactions for newly activated mobile banking apps. For the first 24 hours after activation, newly opened accounts will be restricted to a maximum transaction limit of N20,000, as determined by the financial institution. The same limit will apply to existing accounts when the mobile banking app is newly activated on a device.

Additionally, customers logging into internet banking on a new device for the first time will be required to complete extra multi-factor authentication checks.

The CBN stated that these provisions represent the minimum operational standards for instant payment services in Nigeria, and all financial institutions must fully comply by July 1, 2026.

In a related development, the apex bank also issued another circular directing banks to place restrictions on loan defaulters.