Nigerians can now rejoice as Point of Sales (PoS) businesses have significantly reduced their exorbitant charges to almost pre-cash scarcity levels.

This comes after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) confirmed the evacuation of banknotes from its vaults to commercial banks across the country to ease the circulation of banknotes of various denominations.

Since the cash crisis began early this year, a lot of Nigerians depended more on PoS operators for cash as there were long queues and cash withdrawal limits in banks. As a result, PoS transactions increased to N807.16 billion in January 2023, a 40.69 percent year-on-year increase from the N573.72 billion transactions that were done in January 2022, according to data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS).

However, with more cash getting into circulation, queues at banks have shortened, and PoS operators have reduced their fees significantly. Many bank customers have been able to withdraw cash from ATMs and over the counter, even without withdrawal limits in some places. This has been a welcome relief for many, as PoS fees had become a source of concern for Nigerians.

Praise Olatide, a student of the University of Lagos, commented that the PoS operators in her estate at Ajah, in Lagos, now charge N100 per N1,000 compared to N300 a week earlier. Abubakar Teslim, a resident of Orile-Iganmu, said most PoS operators in the area had cut their charges. “I think PoS charges are going back to normal; they were making gains before cash crunch. I believe they can still make a profit without exploitation,” he said.

Anthony Micheals, a graphic designer living in Lagos, said: “Over the weekend, I withdrew N14,000 for N400; this is very close to what they charged before, which was N200-N300 for N10,000-N15,000). I’m very happy about these new charges because I was really affected by the cash crunch and PoS agents’ exploitation so much so that I couldn’t go to work on some days.”

The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) reportedly arrested PoS agents charging exorbitant fees in some states recently. This action has been welcomed by many Nigerians, who have felt exploited by PoS operators in the past.

According to the data from the CBN, the currency in circulation declined by 29.2 percent to N982.1 billion in February, the lowest since October 2008, from N1.39 trillion in the previous month. It declined by 69.9 percent on a year-on-year from February 2022. However, with the CBN’s efforts to ease the circulation of banknotes, it is expected that PoS operators’ fees will continue to reduce.