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PoS operators insist on court ruling amid CAC threats

By Adeyemi Adepetun
09 September 2024   |   7:11 am
Point of Sale (PoS) operators, under the aegis of the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria (AMMBAN), have insisted on court interpretation and ruling amid the threat of clampdown by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
Point of Sale (POS) machine. FILE PHOTO

Fintech firms begin N50 EMTL deduction

Point of Sale (PoS) operators, under the aegis of the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria (AMMBAN), have insisted on court interpretation and ruling amid the threat of clampdown by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

   
AMMBAN noted that the earlier ruling was that the status quo should remain until the court rules on the matter.The CAC had insisted that PoS operators in the country must register with it. The deadline handed to the operators elapsed on September 5, 2024.
  
In a notice at the weekend, the CAC said it had commenced the process of taking drastic actions, including shutting down PoS businesses that failed to register their businesses as of the deadline.
 
 CAC’s move to force registration, according to it, was to curb the rising cases of fraud via the platform and system. Checks by The Guardian indicated that over 1.9 million PoS agents operate in the country. 
  
The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) said as of Q1, 2024, about 2.7 million PoS terminals had been deployed by merchants and individuals across Nigeria.
  
AMMBAN, however, said it had challenged the CAC’s registration directive in court and insisted that the mandatory registration was illegal. Speaking with The Guardian yesterday, National General Secretary of AMMBAN, OluwasegunElegbede, said the status quo remained based on what the court said earlier, adding that they await the court to resume in October for clarity.  He noted that no operator was expected to be shut down as stated by the CAC.
  
According to him, the prayer is for the court to intervene in the interpretation of the quoted section of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) if individuals operating as a sub-agent (likened to a bank branch) must register with CAC.
  
Elegbede said AMMBAN was insisting that the registration requirements imposed by CAC violated the provision of the CAMA, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, which “explicitly stated that the commission has no jurisdiction” over individuals not operating as a company. 

He said, “The case is still in court. The CAC is yet to make an appearance. We were surprised to see their notice, threats and saying they will use every legal means. They are also contravening the legality of a court by that statement. We wait to see what their reactions will be. We even see a contempt of court for them trying to do something against what the earlier court has said.
  
“Our prayer is for them to stay execution. We have taken an interlocutory injunction, where the real prayer is now determined to the effect that the CBN policy recognises individual and non-individuals becoming an agent. CAMA also recognises, in the Nigerian context, that an individual and non-individual can do business. For an individual, there is no legal constraint that you must necessarily register a business. We have agents that fall under that category. They are not forced to register. PoS operators are not the only ones in the country, who are doing business in their names. There are so many others, who are even more sensitive than PoS agents.  There is no other thing we need to register an agent that has not been done. They have a bank account, Bank Verification Number (BVN), National Identification Number (NIN) and others.”

MEANWHILE, fintech companies, will from September 9, start the deduction of N50 Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) from every inflow of N10,000 and above received by their customers.
  
The fintech companies said the deduction was following the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) directive. In a short notification to its customers on Saturday, Moniepoint wrote: “N50 fee would be charged on inflows you receive of N10,000 and above from Monday, September 9, 2024. Your BRM is available to answer questions you might have.”
  
On its part, OPay clarified to its customers that the deduction is for EMTL as directed by the Federal Government.
  
“Please be informed that starting from September 9, 2024, a one-time fee of N50 will be applied to electronic transfers of N10,000 and above paid into your personal or business account in compliance with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) regulations.
  
“It is important to note that OPay does not benefit from this charge in any way as it is directed entirely to the Federal Government,” the company wrote.

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