The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has extended by 60 days the deadline issued to Point of Sales (PoS) operators in Nigeria to register their businesses.
With this, the operators now have until September 5, 2024, to register their businesses as against the initial deadline of July 7. The Commission announced the extension via a statement issued on Saturday.
The extension comes with a warning that any operator that fails to meet the new deadline will face prosecution and risk losing the business.
What the Commission said
The CAC in the statement announcing the extension said:
“The Corporate Affairs Commission wishes to notify Fintech Operators also known as Point of Sales (POS) Operators that the initial deadline of 7th July 2024 given for the registration of sole Agents, Super Agents, and Agents has been extended for a period of sixty days beginning from 7th July 2024 to the 5th September 2024.
“This is to give sufficient time to Operators particularly those in remote areas who might have encountered network challenges to so register and continue with their businesses.
“Operators who fail or refuse to register at the end of the extended deadline run the risk of losing such businesses and prosecution for aiding and abetting criminal activities.”
Registration challenge
Since the deadline was announced in May, some of the PoS operators have been complaining about difficulties in getting their registration done on the Commission’s portal. This prompted the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu to appeal to the Commission to simplify the process.
The Governor appealed to the Commission on Thursday during a courtesy call on him by the Registrar-General of CAC, Mr Hussaini Magaji, at Alausa, Ikeja.
Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by his Deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, suggested that the CAC could adopt a model similar to the state tax card, which provided a database for the government to manage infrastructure needs without burdening businesses.
While expressing the state government’s willingness to collaborate with the CAC to ensure seamless registration of businesses in the state, he emphasized the need for more sensitization to correct the perception that registering with the CAC was difficult.
Backstory
Earlier this May, the CAC announced that PoS agents of major fintechs in Nigeria including OPay, Palmpay, and Moniepoint, among others, have been given a deadline of July 7, 2024, to register their business.
The Registrar-General of the CAC, Hussaini Magaji, who announced this said this was the agreement with the PoS operators after a meeting in Abuja.
According to him, the registrations are also in line with the legal requirements and the directives of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
He added that the action was equally backed by Section 863, Subsection 1 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, CAMA 2020 as well as the 2013 CBN guidelines on agent banking.
He said the registration is aimed at safeguarding the businesses of fintechs and customers, as well as strengthening the economy.
Meanwhile, the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria (AMMBAN), had recently condemned the mandated registration, describing it is an attempt to tax more Nigerians to generate revenue for the government
