Point of Sale (POS) operators have raised concerns over the new notice by the Corporate Affairs Commission to ban unregistered operators from January 1, 2026.
News report stated that the CAC on Saturday in a public notice noted that many unregistered PoS machines have infiltrated the financial system and are being used to perpetrate crime in the country.
Speaking to Daily Trust, the operators who run other businesses alongside offering banking agency services such as cash withdrawals and deposits have insisted on using their single business registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to cover all their operations.
They expressed no urgency to register their POS businesses separately with the CAC, saying their general business names already encompass the service.
Chuck Isaiah, who operates under the registered business name Diplomatic Venture, said his existing registration adequately covers his POS service, adding that he feels no pressure despite the CAC’s warning to delist unregistered POS operators.
“When they brought up this issue that every POS operator must have a registered business name, I wasn’t worried.
“I don’t just run POS; I’m also involved in other businesses like selling phone accessories and laptops. The POS is simply a means of payment, and sometimes I use it to help people withdraw or deposit money into my account.”
Similarly, Olusola Folowo, who runs a frozen food business alongside her POS service, shared the same sentiment, saying her registered business name should exempt her from CAC sanctions on unregistered operators starting January 2026.
“I already have a business name that covers my POS. My POS usage is mainly for business transactions, though I sometimes let others use it.
“I don’t understand why CAC insists that POS operators must register separately. The profit margin is already very low, and fintech companies still charge us fees,” she said.
In the same vein, Anjola, another POS operator with the registered business name Anjoluwa Business Ventures, expressed concern about the CAC’s directive, noting that it could have serious implications for operators.
“Nobody knows what could happen tomorrow. The commission’s directive might disrupt POS operators by January, so it’s important that we comply,” she said.
What CAC is saying
The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) on Saturday set Jan 1 2026 to blacklist fintech companies enabling unregistered Point of Sale (PoS) operations in Nigeria.
This was disclosed in a statement issued by the Commission’s management.
The development comes nearly a year after the CAC commenced the process of taking drastic actions, including shutting down PoS businesses that failed to register before its September 5 deadline, which had already lapsed at the time.
The CAC stated that it has observed a rising number of PoS operators allegedly running without registration, in violation of CAMA 2020 and CBN agent banking regulations.
According to the CAC, “This reckless practice, often enabled by some fintech companies, puts Nigeria’s financial system and citizens’ investments at risk.”
The Commission warned that the practice must stop effective January 1, 2026, adding that no PoS operator will be allowed to operate without CAC registration.
Additionally, it stressed that security agencies will be engaged to enforce compliance nationwide.
“Unregistered PoS terminals will be seized or shut down by security officials.
“Fintechs enabling illegal operations will be placed on a watchlist and reported to the CBN,” the statement added.
The CAC also advised all operators to regularise their registration immediately, stating that compliance is mandatory.
Background
In May last year, the CAC announced that PoS agents of major fintechs in Nigeria, including OPay, Palmpay, and Moniepoint, among others, had been given a deadline of July 7, 2024, to register their businesses.
The Registrar-General of the CAC, Hussaini Magaji, who made the announcement, said this was part of an agreement reached with PoS operators after a meeting in Abuja.
According to him, the registration requirement is also in line with legal provisions and directives of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The Commission later extended the deadline by 60 days to September 5, 2024. The extension came with a warning that any operator who failed to meet the new deadline would face prosecution and risk losing their business.
The directive on the registration of PoS businesses came against the backdrop of frequent fraud incidents involving PoS terminals and the CBN’s efforts to curb trading in cryptocurrency or other virtual currencies.
According to a report by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) Plc, PoS terminals accounted for 26.37% of fraud incidents in 2023.
Meanwhile, the Registrar-General of the CAC, Hussaini Magaji, has reiterated that the registration requirement is backed by Section 863(1) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020, as well as the 2013 CBN guidelines on agent banking.
He said the registration aims to safeguard the businesses of fintechs and their customers, and to strengthen the economy.
N18trn transaction in 1yr
Meanwhile Daily Trust had reported how the value of transactions over Point of Sales (PoS) terminals in Nigeria surged to N18 trillion in 2024, hitting an all-time yearly record.
This is according to data obtained from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS).
Fuelled by a protracted scarcity of cash at ATMs and the aggressive push in PoS deployments by fintech companies, the 2024 record represents a 69% increase when Scompared with the value of PoS transactions in 2023 at N10.7 trillion.
In the same vein, the volume of transactions rose by 8% year-on-year to 1.5 billion in 2024 compared with the 1.4 billion recorded in the previous year.
While commercial banks had been the major drivers of PoS terminal availability in the past, the entrance of fintechs into this space has seen the number of PoS devices in the market grow astronomically.
In 2024, NIBSS data showed that the number of PoS terminals deployed across the country more than doubled to 5.5 million from 2.4 million recorded at the end of 2023. This represents a 129% increase.
Meanwhile, registered PoS terminals in the country also jumped from 3.5 million in December 2023 to 7.8 million in December 2024, indicating that about 4.3 million new PoS machines were registered last year.
The gap between deployed terminals and the number of registered terminals indicates that there are still over 2 million devices that are already registered but yet to be deployed.
Industry analysts believe there are several factors contributing to the increasing adoption of POS as a means of transaction by Nigerians.
Central among these is the difficulty in accessing cash through the usual banking channels.