A survey carried out by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has revealed that solely 59% of banks, fintechs and different monetary establishments in Nigeria are ready to fulfill the January 2027 deadline set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for them to host all cost information regionally.
The findings of the survey had been launched on Wednesday throughout an Executive Regulatory Dialogue on the implementation of the National Sovereign Cloud Initiative and Data Localisation collectively organized by NITDA and the CBN.
The report confirmed that 26 of the 44 monetary establishments that responded to the readiness query had accomplished or had been prone to full the required actions earlier than the deadline, whereas 15 establishments stated completion was unlikely or impossible, whereas three couldn’t assess their readiness.
NITDA highlights gaps in readiness
Speaking on the survey, Special Assistant on Policy to the Director-General of NITDA, Dr Muhammad Lawal, stated there are gaps within the monetary sector’s preparedness for the info localisation deadline.
- ‘’The survey additionally revealed that 22 of the 44 establishments had but to start implementation, with budgeting, contract negotiations and system migration among the many excellent duties.
- “79 per cent of digital infrastructure suppliers surveyed had been ready to accommodate new workloads from the monetary sector.
- ‘’Which implies that the problem extends past infrastructure availability to deployment, contracting and migration’’, he stated.
According to him, the initiative seeks to strengthen Nigeria’s management over essential digital infrastructure, enhance information safety and develop home capability for internet hosting important providers.
Lawal stated that respondents additionally known as for stronger coordination amongst CBN, NITDA and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), alongside entry to dependable native infrastructure.
He stated the survey, carried out between Oct. 13 and Oct. 27, obtained responses from 47 monetary establishments and 42 digital infrastructure suppliers, though the quantity of responses diversified throughout particular person questions.
He stated the findings had been self-reported, anonymised and aggregated and didn’t quantity to a compliance evaluation.
CBN insists on information localisation
In her keynote tackle, Dr Rakiya Yusuf, Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability, CBN, stated monetary establishments should be certain that essential cost transaction information was saved and managed inside Nigeria in keeping with relevant regulatory necessities.
- She stated that the Jan. 1, 2027 deadline was meant to strengthen regulatory visibility, enhance resilience and safeguard essential monetary information.
- The deputy governor, nevertheless, cautioned that information localisation alone wouldn’t assure safety.
- She stated there was the necessity for strong cybersecurity, enterprise continuity, catastrophe restoration and risk-management preparations.
According to her, monetary establishments will stay accountable for dangers arising from their relationships with cloud and different third-party expertise suppliers.
The CBN official known as for collaboration amongst regulators, monetary establishments and expertise suppliers to deal with implementation challenges with out undermining innovation or the competitiveness of Nigeria’s monetary sector.
NITDA harps on Nigerian Sovereign Cloud
Also talking on the occasion, Director-General of NITDA, Mr Kashifu Inuwa, stated that the Nigerian Sovereign Cloud Initiative was designed to strengthen the nation’s digital self-determination by growing home capability for essential applied sciences and infrastructure.
He stated Nigerian corporations spent greater than 850 million {dollars} yearly on cloud providers, including that growing native capability might create jobs, retain extra financial worth inside the nation and cut back publicity to exterior disruptions.
Inuwa stated the initiative aligned with the Federal Government’s Nigeria First coverage, which prioritises native capability improvement and worth creation, fairly than isolating the nation from international expertise.
He additionally cited the 2024 submarine cable disruptions for example of the vulnerabilities related to dependence on digital infrastructure past Nigeria’s management.
CBN’s information localization directive
In June this 12 months, Earlier this month, the CBN issued a directive mandating banks, fintech firms, mobile money operators and other payment service providers to store all payment transaction data generated within Nigeria on local servers.
- This got here as half of a broader regulatory push to strengthen oversight, enhance transparency and cut back focus dangers within the nation’s fast-growing digital funds ecosystem.
- The directive was contained in a round issued by the apex financial institution on Monday and signed by the Director of the Payments System Supervision Department, Rakiya O. Yusuf.
According to the round, all monetary establishments and cost system contributors facilitating transactions in Nigeria should be certain that cost transaction information generated inside the nation are saved and managed regionally in compliance with Nigerian information safety legal guidelines and rules. The CBN acknowledged that affected establishments should absolutely adjust to the requirement by January 1, 2027.
