The National President of the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria announced that point-of-sale operators are planning to take legal action regarding the mandatory registration requirement by the Corporate Affairs Commission for its members. The President of the association, Fasasi Sarafadeen, criticized the directive that PoS operators must register with the CAC, stating that this has led the association to seek legal redress.
Sarafadeen argued that the CAC directive goes against the Companies and Allied Matters Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, as it states that the commission does not have jurisdiction over individuals who are not operating as a company.
He mentioned that they are prepared to challenge this legally and are in discussions with legal representatives and human rights lawyers on the matter.
Sarafadeen explained that there are two types of Point-of-Sale agents: individual operators and non-individual operators. Individual agents conduct business under personal names, while non-individual agents operate under business names and are subject to CAC regulations.
He emphasized that sub-agents are branches of registered companies under the CAC and should not be considered illegal.
Sarafadeen suggested that the CAC should focus on addressing the high failure rate of registered businesses in Nigeria instead of concentrating on regulating individual POS agents. He also highlighted the importance of job creation and urged the government to intervene to prevent policies that could lead to unemployment.
The CAC had mandated Point of Sales companies to register their agents, merchants, and individuals within two months to comply with legal requirements and CBN directives. The initiative aims to combat criminal activities like kidnapping and ransom payments.
Furthermore, the move came amid increasing fraud cases involving POS terminals and the CBN’s prohibition of trading in cryptocurrency. POS terminals were involved in a significant percentage of fraud incidents in 2023, according to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc.
Recently, the CBN directed major fintech firms to stop onboarding new customers and advised against trading in virtual currencies to tackle money laundering and terrorism financing concerns.
Additionally, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had frozen numerous bank accounts involved in illegal foreign exchange transactions before the CBN’s actions.
From: Amadi Vincent
