Reporting by The Punch indicates that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a definitive timeline for all Deposit Money Banks to implement automated Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Financing of Terrorism (CFT) solutions. Banks have been granted 18 months to achieve full compliance, while other financial institutions have a 24-month window starting from March 10, 2026.
The new baseline standards are designed to harmonize Nigeria’s financial monitoring with international best practices. The apex bank emphasized that manual tracking is no longer sufficient to combat the sophisticated nature of modern financial crimes and proliferation financing.
Vanguard supports this development, quoting a source saying, “The directive is non-negotiable for banks wishing to maintain their international correspondent banking relationships.” Similarly, ThisDay reports that “the CBN is leveraging technology to exit the FATF grey list permanently.”
Echotitbits take: This policy will significantly increase the “cost of compliance” for smaller banks, potentially triggering a secondary wave of mergers. It also marks a victory for Nigerian fintech firms specializing in RegTech.
Source: BusinessDay – https://businessday.ng/news/article/banks-fintechs-face-new-cbn-deadline-for-automated-aml-systems/, March 11, 2026
Photo credit: BusinessDay
