“We Disagree” PoS Agents React to CAC Order To Register As Police Gets Date To Begin Arrest

• The PoS operators association is not happy with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) directive for them to register
• The Corporate Affairs Commission maintains that formal registration is necessary to combat financial crimes
• The PoS operators are not convinced and accused the government of more taxation to drive revenue

The Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents of Nigeria (AMMBAN) has expressed concerns that the Corporate Affairs Commission's (CAC) directive plans to arrest Point-of-Sale (POS) agents from July 7, 2024, over the directive to register.

CAC, in an earlier statement, stressed that the registration was to curb crime in the financial space and warned that police would be involved in arrests.

However, AMMBAN, in a statement made available to Legit.ng noted that CAC's registration agenda is driven by revenue, not security, as claimed.

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Oluwasegun Elegbede, the group's national general secretary who signed the statement on behalf of Fasasi Sarafsdeen Atanda, the association's president, stressed that the registration was purely a revenue-driven agenda.

He noted that while fighting crime is noble and very important, the demand for POS agents to register is major due to further taxing hapless Nigerians.

Part of the statement reads:

“The Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents of Nigeria (AMMBAN) strongly disagrees with the recent directive by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) that all POS agents must register with it, regardless of their status as individuals or non-individuals.

"We believe this directive is unnecessary, contradictory to existing laws, and amounts to a mere revenue generation move to further tax hapless Nigerians.

"We disagree with CAC’s claim that it wants to fight crimes in the agency banking business space through registration.

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"We believe that the kind of crimes in space are both human and technical, which CAC registration cannot fight."

The association referred to Section 18 (1) of CAMA, which states that 'A person may apply to the commission for the registration of a company', and Section 22(1) states that 'A company shall be deemed to be a separate legal entity from its members'.

The group insisted that this means that individuals and non-individuals (companies) have different legal statuses and requirements. Leadership reports.

The group added:

"The CBN policy on financial inclusion and development stated that agency banking services shall be provided by agents who are individuals or non-individuals (companies) registered with the CBN (Section 2.1).

"The group disclosed that the policy clearly recognised the distinction between individuals and non-individuals and does not require individuals to register with CAC.”

Punch reports that the association also challenged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to provide evidence that its Point-of-Sale agents conspired with bank officials to hoard cash.

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EFCC Calls Out PoS operators for empty ATMs

Legit.ng earlier reported that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has accused banks of working with point-of-sale (POS) operators to limit cash availability at automated teller machines (ATMs).

Hauwa Garba Ringim, the Acting Zonal Director of the Ibadan Zonal Command of the EFCC, ACE, disclosed this while meeting with bank Compliance Officers in Oyo State.

According to Ringim, it is illegal for POS operators to possess large amounts of cash from banks at the expense of ATMs.

Source: Legit.ng