The 2027 Deadline: Don't Just Move the Data. Fix It.
Nigeria's 1 January 2027 payment-data localisation deadline gives banks, fintechs and other payment ecosystem participants a clear task: ensure payment data is stored and managed in Nigeria.
But the challenge is not simply where the data sits. Institutions must manage the transition without disrupting critical services, while dealing with fragmented data, governance gaps, vendor dependencies and years of accumulated complexity.
The deadline also creates a rare opportunity. Investment that can be difficult to justify as data governance or modernisation now has a clear regulatory imperative behind it. Institutions can use the transition to reconcile and improve their data, strengthen governance, reduce unnecessary dependencies and retain greater control over critical capabilities.
For institutions still planning the move, and those already in flight, the question is the same: how do you meet the localisation requirement without carrying existing weaknesses into the new environment?
This private roundtable brings together senior leaders from across Nigeria's banking, fintech and payments ecosystem to examine how localisation can deliver more than compliance, creating a stronger, better-governed data foundation for AI, automation and the next phase of digital transformation.
