The new standards apply to deposit money banks, mobile money operators, international money transfer operators, payment service providers, and other regulated financial institutions. According to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the policy is designed to strengthen the country’s financial crime detection framework as financial services become increasingly digital.
“The Baseline Standards provide a framework for implementing automated solutions that enhance the real-time detection and reporting of suspicious transactions and improve compliance with applicable AML/CFT/CPF laws and regulations,” the circular stated. The regulator noted that automated systems will help financial institutions better manage financial crime risks and strengthen their monitoring of suspicious activities.
Under the directive, deposit money banks have been given 18 months to fully comply with the standards, while other financial institutions are expected to meet the requirements within 24 months. All affected institutions must also submit implementation roadmaps to the CBN within three months of the issuance of the guidelines.
The central bank said the move reflects the increasing complexity of financial transactions and the growing limitations of traditional manual compliance processes.
“As financial services become more digitised and complex, manual AML/CFT/CPF controls are no longer sufficient to address evolving risks,” the regulator said.
Financial institutions are therefore required to deploy automated anti-money laundering platforms capable of supporting customer identification and verification, risk assessment, sanctions screening, transaction monitoring, case management, investigation processes, and regulatory reporting.
These systems must also integrate with core banking platforms and other operational systems to ensure comprehensive monitoring across products, channels, and customer activities.
According to the CBN, AML monitoring systems should analyse transactions within the broader context of a customer’s profile rather than relying solely on raw transaction data. The framework also allows the use of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and predictive analytics to improve the detection of suspicious financial patterns.
However, the regulator emphasised that such technologies must be subject to proper governance and independent validation. Financial institutions are required to conduct annual independent assessments of AI and machine learning models to evaluate their accuracy, performance stability, fairness, and potential bias.
The guidelines also strengthen know-your-customer (KYC) requirements, encouraging institutions to integrate identity verification with national databases such as the Bank Verification Number (BVN) and the National Identification Number (NIN).
Under the standards, AML platforms must screen customers and transactions against domestic and international sanctions lists, registers of politically exposed persons, internal watchlists, and adverse media sources. The systems must also be capable of blocking account openings or transactions where confirmed sanctions matches are identified.
Beyond anti-money laundering controls, the framework encourages financial institutions to deploy automated fraud monitoring systems across electronic channels, card payments, deposits, and lending platforms.
The CBN said compliance will be monitored through off-site surveillance, on-site examinations, and thematic regulatory reviews. Institutions that fail to meet the requirements may face regulatory actions, including remedial directives, administrative sanctions, and financial penalties.
The regulator added that the baseline standards represent the minimum compliance threshold, noting that institutions may be required to implement stronger controls depending on their operational complexity and risk exposure.
According to the central bank, the new framework is expected to enhance Nigeria’s capacity to prevent, detect, and report money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation financing while strengthening the integrity and stability of the country’s financial system.
