The latest requirement for PoS operators to register in Nigeria, according to the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria (AMMBAN), is an attempt to tax more Nigerians in order to raise money for the government.
This was said in a statement released on Tuesday by Oluwasegun Elegbede, the organization’s national general secretary. He dismissed the Corporate Affairs Commission’s (CAC) assertion that PoS crime may be prevented by registration, pointing out that certain crimes cannot be prevented by registration.
While the CAC had recently announced that the PoS operators have until July 7, 2024, to get registered, the AMMBAN Secretary said the CAC is already threatening to deploy the police to go after agents who fail to register by that date.
Although the CAC claimed it had an agreement with representatives of the PoS operators before fixing the timeline for the mandatory registration, mobile money agents in the statement said,
“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.
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“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 the CAC’s claim that it wants to fight crimes in the agency banking business space through registration. We believe that the kind of crimes in the space are both human and technical, which CAC registration cannot fight,” the group added.
AMMBAN argued that many of the PoS agents are individuals and registration for them is not mandatory by law.
The group backed up their claims with 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), which states that “a company shall be deemed to be a separate legal entity from its members.”
The group noted that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) policy on financial inclusion and development states that “agency banking services shall be provided by agents who are individuals or non-individuals (companies) registered with the CBN.”
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“This policy clearly recognizes the distinction between individuals and non-individuals and does not require individuals to register with the CAC,” AMMBAN said.
AMMBAN also reacted to a recent allegation of cash hoarding against the PoS operators and banks made by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The body described the allegation as damaging to the reputation of its members who are doing their businesses legitimately.
“Our Association finds it criminal for anyone to buy and sell cash, as our role is to bring succour to the general populace at a convenient cost to serve.
“We urge the EFCC to provide substantial evidence, not generalizing, to support their claims and to avoid making statements that can tarnish the image of hardworking and dedicated agents who have contributed significantly to financial inclusion in Nigeria,” it said.
