Federal Government-owned Galaxy Backbone has stepped up efforts to attract banks, fintech companies, and other financial institutions to its digital infrastructure services following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive requiring payment transaction data generated within the country to be stored on local servers.
The move was disclosed in a statement issued by the organisation on Monday after it hosted chief information officers from banks, fintech firms, and other technology stakeholders at its second-quarter webinar on digital trust, regulatory compliance, and infrastructure resilience.
The webinar, themed “Building Digital Trust in Nigeria’s Financial Sector: Navigating Regulatory Compliance and Infrastructure Performance,” focused on the growing need for secure digital infrastructure as financial institutions adapt to evolving regulations and increased digital adoption.
According to Galaxy Backbone, the event comes on the heels of the CBN’s directive requiring banks, fintech companies, mobile money operators, and other payment service providers to host payment transaction data generated in Nigeria on local servers.
The organisation said the policy is aimed at strengthening regulatory oversight, improving transparency, reducing concentration risks, and ensuring that critical payment data remains within Nigeria’s jurisdiction.
Speaking at the webinar, Galaxy Backbone’s Executive Director of Finance, Ibrahim Sani, said the rapid transformation of Nigeria’s financial sector has increased the need for trusted digital infrastructure capable of supporting secure, reliable, and future-ready financial services.
Sani noted that the organisation already provides secure connectivity, cloud, and data centre services to several public and private sector institutions, including financial organisations.
He added that Galaxy Backbone is well positioned to help the financial sector meet evolving regulatory and business requirements through resilient digital infrastructure.
Also speaking, the Executive Director of Digital Exploration and Technical Services, Olumbe Akinkugbe, said compliance with CBN directives and other regulatory frameworks is essential for strengthening transparency, accountability, consumer confidence, and the security of financial data in Nigeria’s growing digital economy.
During the webinar, the organisation’s Head of Automation and Integration, Thomas Oghenebhumhe, showcased Galaxy Backbone’s sovereign cloud capabilities, explaining how resilient cloud infrastructure can help financial institutions innovate faster, improve operational efficiency, safeguard sensitive information, and maintain regulatory compliance.
According to the statement, the presentation sparked discussions among participants on cloud migration, data sovereignty, and compliance with regulatory standards.
The Head of Data Centre Operations, Samuel Olusola Oyeleke, also highlighted Galaxy Backbone’s globally certified Tier III and Tier IV data centres, noting that the facilities provide high availability, resilience, and reliability to support uninterrupted digital services, disaster recovery, and business continuity for critical financial operations.
Closing the webinar, Executive Director of Customer Centricity and Marketing, Olusegun Olulade, stressed the importance of collaboration among regulators, technology providers, and financial institutions in strengthening digital trust.
He said organisations must invest in infrastructure that not only meets regulatory requirements but also guarantees resilience, security, business continuity, and customer confidence.
Olulade reaffirmed Galaxy Backbone’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s financial services industry with secure, resilient, and globally aligned digital infrastructure that enables innovation while ensuring compliance with evolving regulations.
The organisation added that its Uptime-certified data centres, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) certification, sovereign cloud platform, and nationwide fibre infrastructure provide banks, fintechs, and payment service providers with secure platforms for data hosting, payment security, regulatory compliance, disaster recovery, and business continuity.
According to the statement, the infrastructure also supports Nigeria’s growing data sovereignty agenda by ensuring that critical financial data is securely hosted within the country.
The development follows the Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive requiring banks, fintech firms, and other payment service providers to store all payment transaction data generated within Nigeria on local servers from January 1, 2027.
The directive, issued by the CBN’s Payments System Supervision Department and signed by its Director, Rakiya Yusuf, also introduced new market structure rules, beneficial ownership disclosure requirements, and enhanced systemic oversight measures for licensed payment service operators.
