Nigerian banks will soon be able to check whether a mobile number linked to a transaction has been swapped, recycled, or flagged for fraud before a payment clears, a capability that regulators say will close one of the most consistently exploited vulnerabilities in the country's digital payments system.

The Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian Communications Commission signed a formal Memorandum of Understanding on Monday that gives banks real-time access to telecom data. At the centre of the agreement is a data-sharing framework called the Telecom Identity Risk Management System (TIRMS), which will allow financial institutions to check whether a mobile number linked to a transaction has been recently swapped, recycled, flagged for suspicious activity, or gone inactive, before a payment clears.

The MoU was signed at CBN headquarters in Abuja on April 20, 2026, alongside the inauguration of two joint committees: the Joint Committee on Payment Systems and Consumer Protection, and the Joint Committee on the TIRMS Portal.

The urgency behind the deal is underscored by hard data. Financial fraud in Nigeria fell 51% to ₦25.85 billion ($18.7 million) in 2025, according to the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System, though several fraud incidents continue to involve SIM swaps and compromised phone numbers used to hijack accounts and bypass authentication.

CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso did not mince words about the stakes. He described the MoU as "a practical statement of national interest," adding that the platform would enable real-time verification of mobile number status across banks and fintech firms under strict compliance with data protection laws, including encryption and consent mechanisms.

NCC Executive Vice Chairman Aminu Maida was equally direct, stating that collaboration between the two institutions was "not optional; it is imperative," and that the initiative would give financial institutions better visibility into the status of phone numbers used in transactions, including whether a line had been swapped, recycled, or flagged for fraudulent activity.

The agreement goes beyond fraud prevention. It establishes mechanisms for faster resolution of cross-sector consumer issues, such as failed airtime purchases or transaction errors, and commits both regulators to coordinated public education and stronger complaint-handling systems.

Telecom operators will be mandated to submit details of churned numbers to the TIRMS platform within seven days, while a new framework will be introduced for blocking fraudulently registered SIM cards. Operators must also notify subscribers at least 14 days before deactivating their lines.

For Nigeria's 200-million-plus mobile subscribers who increasingly rely on phone numbers as the primary gateway to banking, the MoU represents a structural upgrade to the security architecture underpinning the country's digital economy.

Stay Informed: Visit our website for Breaking News, Intelligence, and Insight.