In the first seven months of 2022, bank customers may have spent N92.2 billion on Point of Sale terminals.
PoS transactions totaled N4.61 trillion in the first seven months of the year, according to data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System. On PoS, a fee of about N100 is frequently charged for withdrawals or transactions ranging from N1,000 to N5000. This brings the total cost of PoS transactions charged during the period to approximately N92.2 billion.
PoS terminals are used for more than just withdrawals; they also serve as payment gateways, with customers using their cards to pay for commodities and bills. Customers pay around N1,000 for these transactions as well.
Victor Olojo, National President of the Association of Mobile Money Agents in Nigeria, confirmed the charges levied by the operators.
According to NIBSS data, approximately 955,234 PoS terminals were deployed in the country as of January 2022. PoS terminals were introduced to promote a cashless economy in the country and to help with payment in rural areas.
The proliferation of mobile money and point-of-sale terminals demonstrates that it has become the most accessible form of payment.
According to a McKinsey report, for every 100,000 Nigerians, there are four bank branches, 17 ATMs, and 147 POS devices.
"Agents are making a living out of this, and a lot of things are happening," Olojo added. We have agents who have built houses and are earning money from it; it is a good initiative spearheaded by the Central Bank.
"In fact, many agents would not seek white collar jobs because they earn a lot from the POS business." Many are now landlords, have property, and are married. We have agents who are doing extremely well and earning significantly more than bank managers."
In terms of transactional costs, he stated that the cost of service and the operating environment may need to be reviewed upwards.
"There is something called cost to serve, there is a challenge when it comes to serving customers, location, getting the funds available, security, threat to life, robbery, and charges of transfer, stamp duty," he said.