On Friday, a group in Nigeria operating under the name Point of Sale (POS) Operators protested the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) policy to limit daily cash withdrawals by individuals to N20,000 and corporate entities to N100,000.
The organization that petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly regarding the proposed policy demanded that it be suspended in order to prevent the loss of 1.4 million bank agents’ means of subsistence.
The National President of AMMBAN, Victor Olojo, spoke to journalists on Friday in Abuja and stated that if the policy is not suspended or revised upward, over 1.4 million people will lose their jobs. He also stated that the series of engagement with important stakeholders would continue.
The POS operators in a petition written under the aegis of Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria ( AMMBAN) and dated 16th December, 2022, specifically requested an upward review of the maximum withdrawal limit to N500,000 weekly for individuals and N3m for corporate organisations.
Olojo said, “AMMBAN believes the cashless policy in its current state hasn’t provided for Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria adequately.
“Even as the CBN Governor made reference to the fact that Mobile Money and Bank Agents are spread across the country, is one of the reasons why he strongly feels the country is ready for the cashless policy, the document puts the jobs of over 1.4million agents on the line in its present state.
“This and many other germane reasons informed the decisions of the Association to engage the CBN, the National Assembly and other relevant stakeholders.
“This is to ensure that while we show support for the cashless policy of the government through the CBN, the policy should recognise the categorisation of Agents’ accounts as it does individuals and corporate entities.”
