Mobile Money and Bank Agents of Nigeria (AMMBAN) has decried the recent directive by the CAC mandating all POS Agents to register at the CAC.
Speaking at a press briefing held over the weekend in Lagos, General Secretary of AMBAN Mr. Oluwasegun Elegbede said they vehemently disagree with the CAC’s directive saying that it’s claim to fight crime in the agency banking business space through registration was baseless and uncalled for.
AMMBAN believes that the CAC lacks the sophistication to fight the level of crimes in the financial space.
As far as Ammban is concerned , CAC is merely interested in revenue generation and to further tax helpless Nigerians who are trying to get by.
He made reference to Section 18(1) of CAMA which states that “a person may apply to the Commission for the registration of a company” and Section 22(1) states that “a company shall be deemed to be a separate legal entity from its members.” This implies that individuals and non-individuals (companies) have different legal statuses and requirements.
AMMBAN further emphasized that the CBN Policy on Financial Inclusion and Development states that “agency banking services shall be provided by agents who are individuals or non-individuals (companies) registered with the CBN” (Section 2.1). This policy clearly recognizes the distinction between individuals and non-individuals and does not require individuals to register.
The major reason they claim to be tackling us is on the issue of cyber crime which AMMBAN has already placed on the front burner. Ammban is making concerted efforts in combating the issue of crimes within our business space. The burning issue was communicated to the Vice President of Nigeria, Kashim Shettima during a recent interaction with him.
To further enhance compliance and encourage whistle blowing the Association launched a joint task force consisting of all security agents across the country to fight sundry crimes at Agent locations.
The Association Spokesperson Mr. Ganiu Olajide Ogungbayi asserted that the CAC mandate did not state how they intend to use registration compliance to combat crime.
The Association condenms the threat by the CAC that come July 7 it will arrest unregistered Point of Sale (POS) Agents
Mr. Ogungbayi further stated that the Association was seeking clarity on what the Law says regarding the position of CAC.
President of AMMBAN, Sarafadeen Fasasi frowned at the intricacies in the CAC directive , emphasizing that once an agent is registered with a Fintechs the agent location is automatically seen as a branch of the Fintech company. once the Fintech company is registered by the CBN their license covers the agent location . However the Agent must display the banner of the Fintech company they are affiliated to and be registered by AMMBAN with their Certificate of Operation and ID card which once scanned will immediately show if the POS handler is a Certified Member of AMMBAN.