The National President of the Mobile Money and Bank Agent Association of Nigeria (AMMBAN), Fasasi Atanda has admitted that bandits use Point-of-Sale operators as their cash out points.
The association’s president admitted this on Friday in an interview granted on Arise TV.
The response follows the ultimatum given to POS operators by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to register their businesses before the July 7, 2024 deadline.
The commission said the action is backed by Section 863 (1) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, (CAMA) 2020, as well as the 2013 Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) guidelines on agent banking.
A week later, POS operators threatened to take the CAC to court. Defending the rationale behind their actions, Atanda admitted that some of his members are used by bandits as payment points for ransom.
According to Atanda, “We do see red flag transactions. We are aware of where they are doing cash outs for bandits. We are aware of this because most of those rural areas do not have banks.
“But the challenge we have been having is that we don’t have a desk to escalate it to and at times when you arrest criminals, who will prosecute them? Who will finance that prosecution when you alert the banks or service providers that you have a member that you suspect?
“They won’t arrest them. They will allow them because they are more focused on business. We discovered that it is important to work with security agencies. We visited the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Department of State Services (DSS) and we are also speaking with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).”
He said the association is working in synergy with security agents to have an understanding of POS operation adding “You can only secure what you understand.”
The association’s boss, however, refuted claims that POS operators are responsible for cash shortages in Nigerian banks.
On May 11, 2024, the EFCC accused banks of colluding with POS operators to limit cash availability at Automated Teller Machines(ATM).
The EFCC alleged that it amounts to financial illegality for POS operators to keep huge cash from banks at the expense of ATMs.
In response, Atanda said, “It is laughable quite alright that it is coming from security agents. None of our members (work in banks). It is not allowed. The reality is that they don’t have links to the banks. The banks don’t even have cash to give out.
“Money is now circulating outside the banking sector. You have over N3.9tn in circulation that is not reflected in the banking sector. We have people that pick up cash and pay it out. So, transactions are terminating at agent locations now.”
