Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed banks and other financial institutions to deploy automated anti-money laundering (AML) systems to strengthen the monitoring of suspicious financial transactions across the country.
Gatekeepers News reports that the directive was contained in a circular dated March 10, 2026, titled “Issuance of Baseline Standards for Automated Anti-Money Laundering Solution for Financial Institutions in Nigeria.”
The framework sets out new regulatory requirements for banks and financial service providers to adopt technology-driven solutions capable of detecting and reporting suspicious transactions in real time.
Under the new policy, deposit money banks have 18 months to fully comply, while other financial institutions such as fintech firms, mobile money operators, international money transfer operators, and payment service providers have up to 24 months to implement the systems.
The apex bank said the new standards are designed to improve Nigeria’s ability to detect financial crimes, including money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation financing, particularly as digital financial transactions continue to increase.
As part of the transition process, affected institutions are also required to submit detailed implementation roadmaps to the CBN within three months of the guideline’s issuance, outlining how they intend to deploy the automated systems.
According to the regulator, the automated platforms will use advanced analytics and transaction-monitoring tools to scan large volumes of financial data and flag unusual patterns for investigation, thereby improving compliance with financial crime regulations and global best practices.
