The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), acting on behalf of the Federal Government, has issued a two-month ultimatum for all Point of Sales (PoS) operators, including agents, merchants, and individuals, to register with the commission.
This move aligns with legal requirements and Central Bank of Nigeria directives. The deadline, announced after a meeting between Fintechs and CAC Registrar-General Hussaini Ishaq Magaji in Abuja, aims to protect Fintech customers’ businesses and strengthen the economy.
With over 1.9 million PoS terminals deployed nationwide, the registration drive seeks to safeguard businesses under Section 863(1) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020 and the 2013 CBN guidelines on agent banking.
The July 7, 2024, deadline is not targeted at specific groups or individuals but aims to provide comprehensive protection for businesses.
A statement by the commission read, “The Corporate Affairs Commission and fintech companies in Nigeria, better known as PoS operators, have agreed to a two-month timeline to register their agents, merchants, and individuals with the CAC in line with legal requirements and the directives of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“The agreement was reached today during a meeting between Fintechs and the Registrar-General, CAC, Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, in Abuja.”
This new directive came against the backdrop of frequent fraud incidents involving POS terminals and plans to stop trading in cryptocurrency or any virtual currency by the Central Bank of Nigeria. POS terminals accounted for 26.37 per cent of fraud incidents in 2023, according to a fraud report by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc.
Last week, the CBN stopped major fintech firms like Kuda, Opay, PalmPay and Moniepoint from onboarding new customers and instructed the companies to warn their customers against trading in cryptocurrency or any virtual currency on their apps, threatening to block any accounts found engaging in such activities.
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