Nigerians are lamenting over the hike in cash transaction charges imposed by point-of-sale operators (POS) despite the extension of the deadline announced by the Central Bank of Nigeria on Sunday 29, January 2023. The scarcity of the new naira notes has worsened as Nigerians are unable to get cash over the counters in banks and from the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs).
POS operators have complained about the difficulties faced in obtaining new notes, as banks cannot meet the desperate needs of their customers. This has made point-of-sale operators look for other sources of obtaining the new notes, which they call “BLACK MARKET” in order to stay in business. Some POS operators in the last 24 hours collected as much as N500 to release N5, 000, N1,500 for N10,000, and N300 for cash withdrawals below N5,000.
RateCaptain conducted a field interview of the POS operations in some areas of Lagos to know the cause of the hike in charges.
Kehinde James, a POS operator in Surulere, told RateCaptain that he could no longer get money from banks. In his own words, “The whole transition policy is not working because I was at some banks where I maintain accounts and I could not withdraw my money.” I had to resort to black market and I paid extra money to the trader, this is the reason why I am also charging extra,” he said.
Chinewo Edward, another operator along Tolu complex, in Lagos State, said she also got the new naira notes from the black market and had to paid N100 for every N1, 000 and that is why she is charging N300 for every N1, 000. She added that “If you wanted to withdraw N20, 000, you would have to pay her N3, 000,” she said.
Malam Jubril Umar, a POS operator along the Ikeja axis in Lagos State, said he has closed his shop since last week Friday because he could not get the new naira notes. He added that there were lots of crowds at the banks and that the ATMs were not dispensing enough cash for him to be in business.
In the Aguda area in Lagos State, POS agents charged N300 per N1, 000 new notes, resulting in N1, 000 per every transaction above N10,000 as against the previous N200 per N10, 000 before the introduction of the new notes.
RateCaptain suggests that the CBN needs to take further steps towards addressing this issue as soon as possible by ensuring adequate distribution and supply channels across all regions so that citizens can access their money without any difficulties or delays caused by a lack of liquidity at bank branches and ATMs nationwide.
