- The CBN has set a new transaction limit within the first 24 hours for newly activated mobile banking apps
- The apex bank also said banks must introduce device binding, stronger authentication
- Bank customers will also now have the option to opt out of instant transfers
Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has experience in business journalism, with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced a transfer limit of N20,000 on newly activated mobile banking applications within the first 24 hours of activation.
This is part of fresh measures to strengthen security in Nigeria’s instant payment system.
Photo: CBN
Source: Twitter
The directive was contained in a circular dated March 12, 2026, addressed to banks, other financial institutions and payment service providers.
The CBN said implementation of the policy will begin on July 1, 2026 and form part of additional safeguards designed to curb rising fraud and improve the resilience of digital payment channels in the country.
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Under the new guidelines, banks must impose transaction limits on newly activated mobile financial service applications during the first 24 hours of activation.
The regulator stated that the N20,000 limit will apply to both inflows and outflows for newly opened accounts, although financial institutions may choose to set lower thresholds depending on their internal risk management frameworks.
For existing customers activating mobile banking applications on a new device, the CBN directed banks to place an outflow transaction limit of not more than N20,000 within the first 24 hours.
BusinessDay reports that the apex bank said the policy is aimed at reducing risks linked to account takeover, identity theft and unauthorised device migration, which have become more prevalent with the rapid growth of digital financial services.
More changes for digital payments
As part of the new measures, the CBN has also introduced mandatory device binding for mobile banking applications.
Under the new rule, customers will be required to operate their banking app on only one device at a time, preventing the use of the same mobile banking application across multiple devices simultaneously.
The regulator also explained that any attempt to migrate to a new device will automatically trigger a fresh authentication and reactivation process to verify the identity of the account holder.
In addition, financial institutions have been directed to enforce stronger multi-factor authentication procedures for first-time logins to internet banking platforms on new devices.
The circular also mandates all financial institutions to deploy enterprise fraud monitoring systems capable of tracking both incoming and outgoing transactions in real time. The systems are expected to help banks detect suspicious activity early and restrict potentially fraudulent transactions.
Photo: Nurphoto
Source: Getty Images
Furthermore, the CBN tightened rules 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.
All online account opening and account reactivation processes must also be validated in real time using the Bank Verification Number and the National Identity Number databases.
Financial institutions were also instructed to adopt enhanced authentication mechanisms such as biometric verification, soft tokens, hard tokens and other multi-factor authentication tools for online account reactivation.
Customers allowed to adjust transaction limits
In a related development, Legit.ng reported that the CBN also reported that under the new rule, individuals and corporate customers will be allowed to voluntarily adjust their transaction limits based on their needs.
However, the adjustments must remain within the existing regulatory ceilings.
The apex bank maintained the current maximum transaction thresholds of N25 million for individual customers and N250 million for corporate accounts.
Source: Legit.ng