The House of Represntatives, has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to, in the public interest, introduce stringent regulations and guidelines, including sanctions on the Point of Sale (POS) business operations in Nigeria.
The House on Thursday, also mandated its Committee on Banking and Currency to organise stakeholders meeting for the purpose of tackling the menace associated with the operation of the Point of Sale in Nigeria.
This was fallout of a motion sponsored by Hon. Jimoh Olajide, who observed that POS is where customers make payments for products or services rendered but due to many factors, the system has been turned into a lucrative business in Nigeria and has provided jobs for millions of unemployed Nigerians that see it as a good alternative to white-collar job.
According to him, while many Nigerians are making legal money from this lucrative business, some are however using it for fraudulent acts to create fake credit alerts to defraud innocent customers, hence the need for government intervention to rescue the rising business sector in the country.
He expressed worries that the Point of Sale (POS) merchants in Nigeria are not only licensed by Commercial Banks, other Private Companies are currently in the business of giving out Point of Sale (POS) for business purposes, thus making the business to be more porous and ambiguous.
“Presently, no financial regulatory bodies in Nigeria can precisely ascertain the total number of Point of Sale (POS) Machines and their Operators in the country”, he argued, adding that on 21 December 2021, the Punch Newspaper reported an allegation by the residents of Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State, alleging that the Aniocha branches of Union Bank and First Bank Staff deliberately sabotaged the Banks Automated Teller Machines (ATM) on non-availability of cash, thus leaving customers with no choice but to patronise the alleged Banks Staff-owned POS Centres around the Banks.
The lawmaker also noted that in some instances, operators charge exorbitant fees, where they know there are ready alternatives nearby, thus the need for some measure of standardisation.
