The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has opened a center dedicated to bulk registration of PoS operators in the country.
This follows a recent 2-month deadline given to the operators to get registered as part of moves to sanitize the business segment. According to the commission, all PoS operators working with fintechs like OPay, Palmpay, Moniepoint, and Fairmoney, among others, have until July 7, 2024 to register their business.
According to a statement from the commission, the Registrar-General/CEO of CAC, Hussaini Ishaq Magaji (SAN), unveiled the centre located at the commission’s FCT Zone 5 Office on Wednesday. It is unclear yet if a similar center will be opened in Lagos given the large number of operators in the state.
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Speaking after cutting the tape to flag off activities at the center, Magaji revealed that it is fully equipped with state-of-the-art equipment needed to handle the project. He further explained that it is also equipped with adequate personnel to handle applications in record time and 24 hours a day.
“The Registrar General stressed that the centre was to facilitate all requests from operators in the fintech industry that voluntarily submitted their agents and merchants for regularisation with the CAC.
“He therefore restated his resolve to ensure compliance with the provisions of Section 863(1) of the Companies and Allied Matters, CAMA 2020, and the CBN guidelines for Agent Banking, 2013.
“Magaji added that the commitment was also in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s desire to ensure financial inclusion for the youth as well as strengthen the fight against fraud, financial, and other crimes in the country,” the CAC statement read.
Operators unhappy
Although the CAC said the registration timeline was an agreement between it and the representatives of the PoS agents, reports indicate that some PoS operators, especially in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), are not happy with the CAC registration directive.
Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday, PoS agents expressed their apprehension over the financial implications of the registration requirement.
Mr. Kofi Kolawole, a seasoned PoS agent, voiced concerns that the registration process, coupled with associated fees, would eat into their already thin profit margins. Kolawole further warned that the increased transaction costs resulting from the registration would ultimately be borne by customers, potentially dissuading them from utilizing PoS services.
Echoing Kolawole’s sentiments, Mr. Clement Agbasi, another PoS operator in the FCT, emphasized the contradiction between the registration mandate and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) financial inclusion initiative. Agbasi lamented that the directive could drive customers away from formal banking channels, undermining efforts to bring the unbanked population into the financial mainstream.
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