House of Representatives has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to introduce stringent regulations and guidelines, including sanctions, on the Point of Sale (POS) business operations in Nigeria.
Also, the House mandated its Committee on Banking and Currency to organise a stakeholders’ meeting for the purpose of “tackling the menace” of POS operations in the country.
The resolutions were sequel to the unanimous adoption of the motion moved by Jimoh Olajide, a member of the House, titled, ‘Urgent Need to Regulate the Point of Sale Business Operations in Nigeria.’
Olajide noted that “the POS has been turned into a lucrative business in Nigeria and has provided jobs for millions of unemployed Nigerians that see it as a good alternative to white-collar jobs in the country.
“While many Nigerians are making legal money from this lucrative business, some are using it for fraudulent acts to create fake credit alerts to defraud innocent customers, hence the need for government intervention to rescue the rising business sector in the country.
“The House is worried that the POS merchants in Nigeria are not only licensed by commercial banks, other private companies are currently in the business of giving out POS for business purposes, thus making the business to be more porous and ambiguous.
He noted that in exercising the powers conferred on the CBN by the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007 (as amended) to issue guidelines, rules, and standards for financial services to the public and to ensure good conduct and management of the financial system, the apex bank had released ATM guidelines and regulations.
