The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has threatened to withdraw the license of any POS Operators found guilty of inflating charges beyond the approved amount.
Blaise Ijebor, Director of CBN Risk Management department made this known while speaking with journalists on efforts of the apex bank alongside state government on ensuring the availability of cash in circulation.
He emphasized that the approved charge for every N5,000 is N100, adding that charges beyond that by agents taking advantage of the situation would attract punitive measures.
According to him, the apex bank is not unaware that the POS agents are engaging in all sorts of practices that involve charging customers up to 30% of their money before making funds available.
He said, “We are monitoring the situation and anyone caught would have his or her license withdrawn and would not be in the business because we are going around with the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
“Customer should not be agitated; there is no need for any tension because your money is safe in the bank for now. Just get the little cash you need while using alternative means available to make payment”
He also disclose that the CBN disbursed over N1 billion to banks between Sunday and Tuesday to ease withdrawal tension. Meanwhile, it appears the tension has failed to die down in spite of this as POS operators continues to charge above the required amount and cash remains scarce across states.
Investors King can confirm that agents still charge as high as N500 and above for withdrawals on N5000, and N1,000 on N10,000 at various locations as of the time of this report.
Despite the CBN’s claim of disbursing enough money to banks, Nigerians have continued to lament unavailable cash at the ATM stands, banks and POS, yet election date is around the corner.