The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed banks and financial institutions to restrict the use of mobile banking applications to a single device per customer as part of new measures aimed at strengthening security in Nigeria’s digital payment ecosystem.

The directive, issued on Friday, means that customers will no longer be able to operate the same banking application on two different devices simultaneously.
The new guideline was contained in a circular to banks, financial institutions, and payment service providers announcing additional operational standards for Instant Payments in the country.

The circular was signed by the CBN’s Director of Payments System Policy Department, Musa Jimoh, who explained that the measures are aimed at improving financial system stability and reducing fraud in digital banking.

According to the apex bank, mobile financial service applications must now include mandatory device binding, ensuring that each banking app is activated on only one device at a time.
“Mobile financial services applications shall only be enabled on one device at a time, and customers cannot operate the apps concurrently on multiple devices,” the circular stated.

Under the new rules, customers who wish to migrate their banking app to another device will be required to undergo automatic re-activation and authentication, including enhanced security checks.

The CBN also introduced additional consumer control features, allowing customers to temporarily opt out of instant payment services if they wish. When a customer activates the opt-out option, they will not be able to perform instant online transfers, whether within the same bank or to other banks.

However, such customers can still visit their bank physically to carry out transfers during the period they remain opted out.
In addition, the regulator stated that customers will be able to voluntarily adjust their transaction limits, provided they remain within the maximum threshold of ₦25 million for individuals and ₦250 million for corporate accounts.
Any adjustment, the CBN said, will require multi-factor authentication (MFA) and enhanced due diligence by the financial institution.

To further combat fraud, all financial institutions are also required to deploy enterprise fraud monitoring systems capable of detecting and blocking suspicious transactions in real time for both incoming and outgoing payments.
The new framework also introduces stricter checks for digital account services. Online account openings and reactivations must now undergo liveliness verification and real-time validation with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and Bank Verification Number databases.

Furthermore, newly activated mobile banking apps will face temporary transaction restrictions during the first 24 hours.

For both new and existing accounts, outgoing transactions within the first day of activating the app on a new device will be capped at ₦20,000, subject to limits set by the financial institution.
The CBN added that logging into internet banking from a new device will also require additional multi-factor authentication.

According to the regulator, the new provisions represent minimum security standards for instant payments across Nigeria’s banking sector. Implementation of the guidelines is scheduled to take effect from July 1, 2026.