Guidelines On Stored Value/Prepaid Card Issuance And Operations

1. Only deposit-taking banks or financial institutions licensed by the CBN with clearing capacity shall issue stored value/prepaid cards. Other deposit taking institutions without clearing capacity can issue in conjunction with those with clearing capacity.

2. No stored value/prepaid card shall be issued to a person without obtaining basic identification which includes name, phone number, and address of the person along with any of the following: any photo identification, passport photograph, or uniquely verified biometric identification 3. Only one stored value/prepaid card shall be issued per person per currency by an issuer at any anytime 4. The maximum amount that can be loaded on the stored value/prepaid card shall not exceed N20,000 per day 5. The maximum balance on the stored value/prepaid card shall not exceed N250,000 at any time 6. The maximum amount on the stored value/prepaid card shall not exceed $5,000 per quarter 7. The usage limits and frequencies shall be defined by each participating bank 8. No third party transfer to or from a stored value/prepaid card is allowed unless the transfer is from one stored value/prepaid card to another.

3. All stored value/prepaid card transactions shall be subject to current Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) reporting requirements 10. All card issuers shall render quarterly returns to the CBN on the gross amount of transfers from/to stored value/prepaid cards for inclusion in the national statistics on payments 11. All stored value/prepaid card account Naira balances shall be considered deposit liabilities by the issuing bank or financial institution and therefore subject to deposit insurance protection up to the limit provided by the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) for bank deposits 12. A stored value/prepaid card holder or his/her estate shall, upon request, be entitled to receive a cash refund of the outstanding balance of the card account from the issuing bank or institution 13. The fee for loading salary payments unto a stored value/prepaid card shall be paid separately by the salary payer and not deducted from the balance value of the stored value/prepaid card.

4. Operators, including mobile/telecommunications operators, wishing to operate money transfer schemes with stored value/prepaid cards shall do so with requisite approval from the CBN and, at all times, in strict conjunction with licensed deposit-taking banks or financial institutions 15. Stored value/prepaid card issuers and/or acquirers that wish to operate closed schemes shall obtain requisite approval from the CBN

5. Stored value/prepaid cards shall be issued without regard to where actual value resides; value shall be held in either centrally-connected network databases or in non-network attached electronic devices, including, but not limited to, smart/chip cards and mobile handsets.

6. All Stored value/prepaid cards shall be EMV-compliant (i.e. Chip and PIN enabled)

7. Each participating bank shall have a Card Management System to effectively manage the issuance and operation of stored value/prepaid cards 19. The CBN Guidelines for Transaction Switching and Card Issuance shall also apply to stored value/prepaid cards unless where specifically overwritten in these guideline