Economy
Things You Need to Become A Mobile Money Agent in Nigeria
By Adedapo Adesanya
In pursuit of expanding financial services and capturing more people into the banking net, a new venture was carved out by financial institutions in Nigeria, which is spreading by the day.
This new business is called agent banking and it has made transacting financial services easier because most people do not need to go to the banking hall or any bank to make payment, withdraw or deposit or transfer money to anyone anymore.
If you look around you these days, you will see people having small kiosks working as mobile money agents, who perform some of the things done in the banking halls.
Who is a Mobile Money Agent?
A mobile money agent is an person approved by a licensed financial institution to offer mobile money services like cash-in and out payment, airtime, service, and bill payments to customers.
Becoming a mobile agent is a great business consideration, and following these easy steps can make one start the business easily without stress.
Registration
To become a mobile money agent, the first step is opening a bank account with the bank of your choice or have an existing bank account (this is better because your transaction history helps in determining your saving level and qualifies you). That is, if you want to be a mobile agent for UBA, you must have an account with them. Some recommendations offered by existing mobile agents are: UBA, Access Bank, First Bank, and GTBank.
Take into consideration that some of these banks give the intending agent optional targets which may be daily or weekly, ranging from N50,000 daily to about N1,000,000 weekly, while some simply do not. One of such banks that give target to their agents is GTBank.
If you have either a savings or current account or both, you can have them linked to the Point of Sale (POS) machine, which is the major tool for the mobile money agent business.
To get a POS machine, you have to go your bank, meet the customer care service, and request for the agency banking, which attracts a fee between N5,000 and N10,000. This money must be paid to get a pin.
This form is where you will provide all the necessary information to qualify you to own a POS as an agent.
The data you must provide include your name, date of birth, state of origin, mobile number, your Bank Verification Number (BVN), Guarantors, Tax Identification Number (TIN) – if you don’t have this, you are given a form to get one. You will also be required to present a valid ID card (voters’ card, national ID card, national identification number [NIN]), and the PIN gotten from paying the fee, among others so they process your application. This generally takes between five working days to three weeks.
Criteria Consideration
If you meet certain criteria, you are given a POS linked to your account.
One of the criteria considered is having a physical store or shop where people can meet to perform financial transactions. People who have shops qualify to be approved to be made a certified mobile money agent than those who don’t. Note that a having kiosk also qualifies you.
The location where the shop is located is also a key factor that will help. The presence of the shop in an area where businesses are situated is an added advantage on the side of the prospective agent.
Literacy is also considered, if the agent can read, write, and do basic calculations which is necessary in balancing accounts, it is a credible criteria that qualifies him or her.
Another thing you must have is a phone, preferably an Internet enabled phone so that you can get alerts. This will make balancing both credit and debit transactions made daily or weekly very easy.
Charges
On the part of the bank, for every transaction of less than N10,000, the bank gets 0.5 percent while transactions from N10,000 upwards to a limit set by the bank (varies from bank from bank), they charge 0.75 percent. These charges are inclusive Value Added Tax (VAT) because of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) policy.
As a mobile money agent, charges on transactions vary, depending on how much the transactor wants to send or receive. Between N1,000 – N3,000, a charge of N100 is applied but N4,000 upward attract a N200 charge. Whether you are sending or receiving. Some agents also fix their charges but standard procedure should not attract more than N200.
Other Services
Also, note that as a mobile money agent, you are not only restricted to pure banking transactions. You can also do other side payments like airtime recharge for mobile networks, bills payment or settlement such as PHCN bills, waste bills, DSTV, GoTV, Startimes, Local Government levies and permits, and even open accounts for banks.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc bested four price decliners on the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Monday, April 27. The alternative stock market opened the week bullish during the session with a 0.03 per cent uptick.
According to data, the security depository company added N2.61 to its share price to close at N76.26 per unit compared with the preceding session’s N78.87 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation of the platform increased by N820 million to N2.425 trillion from N2.424 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) gained 1.38 points to finish at 4,053.97 points compared with the 4,052.58 points it ended last Friday.
The four price losers were led by NASD Plc, which slumped by N3.80 to sell at N34.70 per share versus N38.50 per share. FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc fell by N1.45 to N98.10 per unit from N99.55 per unit, Food Concepts Plc slid by 27 Kobo to N2.43 per share from N2.70 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc dipped by 9 Kobo to N2.91 per unit from N3.00 per unit.
The value of securities transacted by market participants went down by 82.0 per cent to N7.4 million from N41.3 million units, the volume of securities declined by 28.5 per cent to 319,831 units from 447,403 units, and the number of deals dropped by 34.1 per cent to 29 deals from 44 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units sold for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Also, GNI Plc was the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with a turnover of 400 million units worth N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The first trading day of the week in the currency market was bearish for the Naira in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, April 27.
Yesterday, it lost N5.80 or 0.43 per cent against the United States Dollar to trade at N1,364.24/$1, in contrast to the N1,358.44/$1 it was traded last Friday.
In the same vein, the Nigerian currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N13.70 to close at N1,847.72/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,834.02/£1, and slumped against the Euro by N11.56 to sell at N1,602.29/€1 versus N1,590.73/€1.
Also, the Nigerian Naira tumbled against the greenback during the trading day by N5 to quote at N1,385/$1 compared with the previous rate of N1,380/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it traded flat at N1,370/$1.
The poor performance of the domestic currency could be attributed to liquidity shortage at the official currency market on Monday, which came amid surging demand for international payments. At $76.50 million, interbank liquidity printed higher across 79 deals, up from the $43.572 million reported on Friday.
Nigeria’s gross external reserves declined to $48.45 billion amid a month-long decline in inflows, amid uncertainties in the global commodity market. The depletion of foreign reserves could be partly attributed to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention in the FX market.
The market remains perturbed by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market, while boosters, including oil prices, continue to look rocky due to stalled discussions and unclear ceasefire negotiations between the US and Iran.
A look at the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) has been rejected near $79,000 three times in eight sessions, leaving the level as the de facto ceiling of its current trading range even as major cryptocurrencies trade lower over the past day. It lost 0.9 per cent to sell at $77,003.61.
Analysts say that upcoming US Federal Reserve policy decisions and top tech firms’ earnings this week could provide the catalyst to push bitcoin decisively above $80,000.
The market also continued to weigh Iran’s interim deal proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which failed to advance over the weekend. The White House said US officials were discussing the latest Iranian proposal but maintained “red lines” on any deal to end the eight-week war.
Solana (SOL) dropped 1.8 per cent to $84.25, Ripple (XRP) went down by 1.6 per cent to $1.39, Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $2,290.00, Binance Coin (BNB) declined by 0.5 per cent to $625.18, and Cardano (ADA) fell by 0.2 per cent to $0.2480.
However, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 2.0 per cent to $0.1002, and TRON (TRX) appreciated by 0.2 per cent to $0.3242, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of the leading salt makers in Nigeria, NASCON Allied Industries Plc, has set its eyes on some strategies aimed to deliver more value to shareholders.
The chief executive of the company, Mrs Aderemi Saka, said efforts are being made to surpass the performance of last year.
In the 2025 financial year, the organisation recorded a 27 per cent growth in revenue, while post-tax profit grew by over 100 per cent to N33.5 billion, with the earnings per share (EPS) expanding by 115 per cent to N12.41 from N5.77 Kobo in the previous year.
The impressive performance, attributed to a clear strategic vision, disciplined execution and sustained focus on cost-saving initiatives across production, logistics and fleet management, resulted in a 200 per cent increase in dividend payout to shareholders to N6 per share.
Mrs Saka, at the firm’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, said the strategic priorities for the coming year include deeper cost optimisation, expanded market penetration, strengthened energy diversification and sustainability initiatives, as well as accelerated digital transformation and process automation.
Earlier, the chairman of NASCON, Mr Olakunle Alake, informed shareholders that the achievements for last year were due to improved operational efficiency, strict cost management and the dedication of the company’s workforce.
“The operating environment in 2025 was characterised by economic volatility, persistent inflation and structural changes across key sectors. Yet, NASCON remained resilient and strategically focused, delivering outstanding value to shareholders,” Mr Alake said.
He noted that operational sustainability remains a core pillar of the organisation’s strategy, stressing that during the year, NASCON introduced Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks into its logistics fleet to reduce fuel costs and minimise exposure to diesel price volatility.
In addition, the company’s state-of-the-art salt refinery, its largest production facility, now runs entirely on natural gas, significantly boosting efficiency while reinforcing NASCON’s commitment to environmental sustainability.
A director in the organisation, Mrs Tonya Lawani, emphasised that the firm remains firmly committed to the principles that have driven its excellent performance, noting that NASCON approaches the new financial year from a position of strength, with further opportunities for growth and improvement.
Speaking on behalf of shareholders, Mr Faruk Umar expressed strong confidence in the company’s trajectory, citing NASCON’s rising share price, which recently crossed the N100 mark, and projecting further appreciation.
He commended the quality of the Board and management team, noting that strong leadership and recent executive appointments have positioned the entity to deliver even greater value to all stakeholders.
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