The Corporate Affairs Commission’s new compliance directive ordering all Point of Sale operators to register their businesses before January 1, 2026 is sparking intense debate across Nigeria’s mobile money sector, deepening a regulatory rift that could shape the future of agent banking. The Commission warned that unregistered terminals risk seizure while operators could be shut down nationwide, noting that rising cases of unregistered agents violate the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s agent-banking rules. CAC insists that the registration drive aims to curb risky informal operations allegedly enabled by some fintech companies, describing the trend as a threat to the financial system and customers’ funds. The Commission said security agencies will enforce the deadline and fintechs supporting unregistered operators may be placed under surveillance.
While one industry group supports the initiative, another strongly opposes it. The Association of Digital Payment and POS Operators of Nigeria backs the CAC’s objective but insists that implementation must be strategic and collaborative. On the other hand, the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria rejects the directive and accuses the Commission of stretching its powers beyond mandate. Speaking to Nairametrics, the association’s national president argued that PoS agents already undergo extensive verification procedures with banks and the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System, insisting that no other informal business category faces similar scrutiny. He questioned why CAC considers registration a fraud-prevention tool when even CAC-registered companies have been implicated in fraudulent dealings over time. According to him, security issues in the industry are already monitored under existing frameworks led by the Central Bank of Nigeria, law enforcement and financial-sector intelligence agencies. He referenced a joint task force currently sharing fraud intelligence under his supervision and urged the CAC to instead fix registration bottlenecks and address business closure rates in the country. He maintained that CAMA 2020 compels only business names and non-individual entities to register with the Commission and stated that AMMBAN would approach the court if the directive is not reversed, citing the rights of individual operators.
ADPPON, however, sees the directive as long overdue. Its president acknowledged rising fraud, kidnappings and illicit cash flows linked to PoS activities and said this validates the call for tighter structure. Industry reports presented to lawmakers indicate that financial fraud rose from N17.67 billion in 2023 to N52.26 billion in 2024, with PoS operations increasingly targeted. ADPPON said the system needs sanitization to protect consumers and strengthen trust in mobile payments, but stressed that CAC cannot achieve compliance through isolated orders. The group called for a coordinated multi-stakeholder enforcement model involving the Central Bank, security agencies, fintech firms and operators, arguing that previous enforcement drives failed due to poor collaboration. It suggested a harmonized compliance timetable, a unified identity and verification framework for operators, nationwide awareness campaigns and a phased implementation plan that protects millions of small PoS businesses essential to financial inclusion and everyday commerce.
This isn’t CAC’s first attempt at formalizing PoS operations. In May last year, the Commission mandated agents of major fintech platforms such as OPay, Palmpay and Moniepoint to register, with an initial deadline of July 7, 2024. Complaints over registration challenges prompted extensions to September 5, 2024 with threats of prosecution for defaulters, yet a significant number of operators reportedly remain unregistered more than a year later. The revived deadline and firmer stance signal renewed federal focus on a sector that supports thousands of micro-businesses and drives cash-flow in many communities. The outcome of this standoff could determine how small operators adapt, how fintechs restructure agent networks, and whether regulation strengthens or strains the financial-inclusion gains built over the years.
