Economy
POS Operators Lament Rationing of Cash by Banks, CBN Calls for Calm
By Dipo Olowookere
Some Point of Sale (PoS) operators in Lagos and other major cities across the country are lamenting the difficulty they face lately in sourcing cash to carry out their business operations.
A few of those who spoke with Business Post said the situation may force them out of business any time soon if the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) fails to step in.
They said getting cash from deposit money banks (DMBs) to transact business is now very difficult as commercial banks ration it to them.
One of the operators in the Egbeda area of Lagos State, who identified herself as Mrs Modupe Adediran told our correspondent that the banks are not helping matters.
“I was at Zenith Bank today (Thursday) to get N100,000 since that was what they gave out on Monday, but I was only given N50,000 and when I asked why, I was told they did not have enough cash at that moment,” Mrs Adediran said.
“Last month, Zenith Bank was still paying out N500,000 cash at once to their customers, though that is the allocation for the week per customer. But since the beginning of this month, they have been giving N50,000 per day until last Monday when they paid N100,000.
“This is already getting me frustrated because it is not enough for me to transact my business for the day.
“If the CBN does not quickly wade into this issue, we might return to the era of using Naira to buy Naira like we did earlier this year when we experienced a similar cash scarcity,” she added.
Another operator in the Ipaja area of Lagos, Mr Femi Ogundare, said he now buys cash from stores, petrol stations and others to keep his business going.
“I have resorted to buying cash from petrol stations, super stores and others because of the rationing of cash by banks.
“I went to First Bank to get some cash but I could not get more than N20,000, same as GTBank, which has not increased its allocation from N20,000 since the first cash scarcity period earlier this year,” he said.
For Ms Feyikemi Atanda, who operates in the Ikeja area of the metropolis, the cash scarcity is getting worse, forcing operators to increase their transaction charges.
“How do you expect me to pay to get cash from different sources and charge the same old fee for using my service?” she queried.
Her view was echoed by Mrs Adediran and Mr Ogundare, who emphasised that the cost of getting cash from other sources apart from the banks would be passed on to customers, who are already resisting this.
“I don’t argue with them (customers) when I tell them to pay N300 for N10,000 instead of N200. I just tell them they can go to their banks or ATM points to get their cash,” Mr Ogundare said.
However, an employee of one of the tier-1 lenders, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the press on the matter, said it is not the fault of the banks to ration what they dispense to customers.
On Wednesday, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in a statement, blamed Nigerians for the recent cash scarcity, accusing them of hoarding cash, ostensibly in fear that the old currency would no longer be accepted as legal tender from December 31, 2023, despite the Supreme Court extending the validity of the banknotes beyond the date.
“The CBN has adequate cash to meet the day-to-day transaction needs of Nigerians.
“We appeal to Nigerians to be patient while the CBN does the needful to ensure the availability of cash, particularly during the Yuletide and beyond,” a statement signed yesterday by CBN’s Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Mrs Hakama Ali, said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of Geo-Fluids Plc and Afriland Properties Plc propelled the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange up 0.13 per cent on Friday, January 10.
Investors gained N1.4 billion during the trading session after the market capitalisation of the bourse ended at N1.053 trillion compared with the previous day’s N1.052 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased at the close of business by 4.07 points to wrap the session at 3,073.93 points compared with 3,069.86 points recorded at the previous session.
Geo-Fluids added 25 Kobo to its value to close at N4.85 per unit compared with the previous session’s N4.60 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc gained 24 Kobo to close at N16.25 per share versus Thursday’s closing price of N16.01 per share.
There was a 35.4 per cent fall in the volume of securities traded in the session as investors exchanged 4.3 million units compared to 6.6 million units traded in the preceding session, the value of shares traded yesterday went down by 37.4 per cent to N17.2 million from the N27.5 million recorded a day earlier, and the number of deals decreased by 47.2 per cent to 19 deals from the 36 deals recorded in the preceding day.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 1.9 million units worth N74.2 million, followed by 11 Plc with 12,963 units valued at N3.2 million, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI )Plc with 10.7 million units sold for N2.1 million.
IGI Plc closed the day as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 10.6 million units sold for N2.1 million, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 1.9 million units valued at N74.2 million, and Acorn Petroleum Plc with 1.2 million units worth N1.9 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira witnessed a depreciation on the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Friday, January 10.
According to data from the FMDQ Exchange, the local currency weakened against the greenback yesterday by 0.12 per cent or N1.80 to sell for N1,543.03/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,541.23/$1.
The pressure on the domestic currency came as the access granted to the Bureaux de Change (BDC) operators by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to purchase FX from the official market through the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) platform prepares to end next week, precisely on January 19.
The CBN had given a 42-day window to the operators to access the platform to help stabilise the Naira in December, and this expires next week.
On Friday, the Nigerian currency tumbled against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N30.78 to sell for N1,889.29/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,858.51/£1, but gained N5.48 against the Euro to finish at N1,583.81/€1, in contrast to Thursday’s rate of N1,589.29/€1.
As for the parallel market, the Nigerian Naira remained stable against the US Dollar during the trading session at N1,650/$1, according to data obtained by Business Post.
In the cryptocurrency market, it was bearish as the US economy added 256,000 jobs last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday, topping forecasts for 160,000 and up from 212,000 in November (revised from an originally reported 227,000).
However, the readings came after a number of recent economic reports triggered a broad-market pullback across asset classes such as crypto as investors quickly scaled back the idea of a continued series of Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2025.
Cardano (ADA) fell by 3.6 per cent to trade at $0.921, Solana (SOL) slumped by 2.8 per cent to $185.93, Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 1.4 per cent to $3,233.27, Litecoin (LTC) lost 1.3 per cent to finish at $103.62, Dogecoin (DOGE) shed 0.5 per cent to sell at $0.3315, Bitcoin (BTC), waned by 0.2 per cent to $94,154.43, and Binance Coin (BNB) went south by 0.1 per cent to $693.30.
On the flip side, Ripple (XRP) jumped by 1.5 per cent to settle at $2.34, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) sold flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
Profit-takers took control of Customs Street on Friday, plunging it by 0.08 per cent at the close of trading activities.
The sell-offs were across all the key sectors of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on last trading session of the week.
The insurance space went down by 1.53 per cent, the banking index depreciated by 0.41 per cent, the consumer goods sector weakened by 0.16 per cent, and the energy counter slumped by 0.08 per cent, while the industrial goods sector closed flat.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) tumbled by 79.68 points to 105,451.06 points from 105,530.74 points and the market capitalisation retreated by N48 billion to N64.303 trillion from N64.351 trillion.
Yesterday, investors traded 1.5 billion shares worth N19.4 billion in 12,877 deals compared with the 489.5 million shares worth N13.1 billion transacted in 13,010 deals in the preceding day, indicating a decline in the number of deals by 1.02 deals and a rise in the trading volume and value by 203.14 per cent and 48.09 per cent, respectively.
Wema Bank was the busiest stock with 976.2 million units valued at N9.8 billion, Tantalizers traded 53.0 million units worth 129.6 million, Universal Insurance sold 34.8 million units for N26.8 million, Access Holdings exchanged 33.9 million units valued at N843.8 million, and Nigerian Breweries traded 27.3 million units worth N873.3 million.
The heaviest loss was suffered by Sunu Assurances with a decline of 9.99 per cent to trade at N7.30, Eunisell shed 9.96 per cent to N17.35, SAHCO crumbled by 9.87 per cent to N30.15, DAAR Communications plunged by 9.28 per cent to 88 Kobo, and Sovereign Trust Insurance went down by 7.04 per cent to N1.32.
On the flip side, C&I Leasing gained 10.00 per cent to close at N4.51, Honeywell Flour appreciated by 9.99 per cent to N10.02, Trans Nationwide Express jumped by 9.89 per cent to N2.00, RT Briscoe rose by 9.83 per cent to N2.57, and Secure Electronic Technology grew by 9.46 per cent to 81 Kobo.
Business Post reports that the bourse ended with 33 price gainers and 25 price losers, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
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