Effective January 1, 2026, Point of Sale (PoS) operators are expected to register with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). Failure may lead to the shutdown of the supposed illegal operator.

The CAC, which announced this in a public notice over the weekend, said the measure was needed to sanitise Nigeria’s rapidly expanding PoS industry.

In the notice signed by the Commission’s management, the CAC expressed concern over the rising number of unregistered PoS operators conducting business in violation of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020 and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Agent Banking Regulations.

According to the commission, the proliferation of unregistered operators often enabled by some fintech companies poses significant risks to Nigeria’s financial system and exposes citizens to fraud and investment losses.

The notice reads: “Effective January 1, 2026, no PoS operator will be permitted to run without proper CAC registration. Security agencies have been directed to enforce nationwide compliance, including: seizure or shutdown of unregistered PoS terminals, monitoring and enforcement actions against non-compliant agents and watchlisting of fintechs enabling illegal PoS operations, with reports forwarded to the CBN.

“This reckless practice, often enabled by some fintech companies, puts Nigeria’s financial system and citizens’ investments at risk. This must stop.

“January 1, 2026, No PoS operator will be allowed to operate without CAC registration. “Security agencies will enforce nationwide compliance. Unregistered PoS terminals will be seized or shut down by security officials.”

The commission emphasised that compliance is mandatory and urged all operators, sole agents, super agents, and aggregators to regularise their businesses immediately.