The Central Bank of Nigeria has published draft Baseline Standards for Automated Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Solutions and invited stakeholder comments, aiming to set minimum expectations for technology-enabled AML/CFT/CPF compliance across Nigeria’s financial sector. The draft is positioned to strengthen real-time detection and reporting of suspicious transactions, reduce reliance on manual processes, and align industry practice with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations. The proposed standards would apply to all financial institutions operating in Nigeria, including deposit money banks, microfinance banks, primary mortgage banks, and digital payment service providers. They outline baseline capabilities spanning risk profiling and assessment, customer identification and verification, sanctions and politically exposed persons (PEPs) screening, transaction monitoring, regulatory reporting, and case management, alongside requirements on system integration, scalability, and data security. The draft also sets expectations for configurable rule and scenario updates, centralized dashboards for real-time reporting and trend analysis, API-based connectivity with core banking and onboarding systems, and domestic and global watchlist screening supported by artificial intelligence-driven fuzzy matching and real-time list updates. Comments are due by June 13, 2025, and the draft is available for download on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s website.
Central Bank of Nigeria 2025-05-20
Central Bank of Nigeria launches consultation on baseline standards for automated anti-money laundering solutions
The Central Bank of Nigeria has released draft Baseline Standards for Automated Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Solutions, seeking feedback to enhance compliance across Nigeria's financial sector. The standards aim to improve real-time detection of suspicious transactions, reduce manual processes, and align with Financial Action Task Force recommendations. They apply to all financial institutions, detailing capabilities in risk profiling, customer verification, transaction monitoring, and data security, focusing on system integration and AI-driven watchlist screening.