POS Operators Not Authorised to Increase Charges—CBN

By Dipo Olowookere

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has stressed that POS operators in the country do not have the authority to fix or increase charges for rendering financial services to their customers.

The central bank said this through its acting governor, Mr Folashodun Shonubi, at a media briefing on Tuesday evening in Abuja.

He said the central bank had approved fees that must be charged by banking agents, noting that the super agents, mainly commercial, digital and microfinance banks, who gave out their Point of Sale (POS) machines to operators, would be sanctioned if they charged above the approved fees.

According to Mr Shonubi, the CBN issued licences to super agents to provide financial services to Nigerians, especially those in the unbanked areas, at an agreed fee.

“It is the super agents we have business with because we issued licences to them. We will hold them responsible if their agents charge their customers above the authorised fees,” Mr Shonubi said yesterday after the two-day Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.

Recall that some POS operators under the umbrella of the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria recently increased their charges across the country, threatening to deal with members who fail to comply.

The group also berated the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), which plans to stop the implementation of the new transaction charges.

“What has the commission done to other price increases across other sectors? We are waiting for the enforcement or the sanction.

“We want to know if it is the commission that is funding us or giving us support. We need to ask them the right questions. What are they doing as regards other segments of the economy that are also increasing prices?” the National Public Relations Officer of the association, Mr Oluwasegun Elegbede, queried in an interview with The Punch.

Under the new price regime, operators are expected to charge for withdrawal N100 for N1000 to N3,400; N200 for N3,500 to N,4000; N300 for N4,100 to N6,400; N400 for N6,500 to N7,900; N500 for N8,500 to N10,900; N600 for N11,000 to N14,000; N700 for N14,500 to N17,900; and N800 for N18,000 to N20,000.

As for deposits and transfers, agents can charge N100 for N1,000 to N4,900; N200 for N5,000 to N10,900; N300 for N11,000 to N20,900; N400 for N21,000 to N30,900; N500 for N31,000 to N40,000; and N600 for N41,100 to N50,000.

Some Nigerians have kicked against these charges, but the POS operators said they were compelled to increase the fees because of the “rude shock that pump prices have jumped up.”