The Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents of Nigeria (AMMBAN) will today, July 1, 2024, receive a ruling from the Federal High Court on a lawsuit against the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) over the mandatory registration of Point of Sale (POS) agents.

Legit.ng had earlier reported that the CAC had given July 7, 2024, the deadline for POS operators to register with the commission.

Subsequently, banks sent notices to PoS operators in their network to adhere to the directives on or before the deadline or risk getting their accounts blocked.

Palmpay, in a message signed by Umuteme Enakeno, head of marketing and communication, said: "PalmPay fully supports the CAC’s directive. To provide a seamless experience for our customers, we have integrated the registration portal with our Business App.

"Ensure that all necessary documents and information are provided accurately before submitting their applications.

"Customers must update their PalmPay Accounts with business details whenever they get the certificate to reflect their new corporate status.

"We urge all PalmPay Business customers to submit or register their CAC before the deadline. Failure to do so means that the account would be frozen."

In an exclusive Chat with Legit.ng, Fasasi Atanda, national president of AMMBAN, said that the directive for PoS operators to register contradicts the current CBN agent banking regulations.

He noted that the current CBN agent banking regulations clearly allow individuals to be onboarded as agents under the sub-agent category.

His words: "Here are AMMBAN issue with CAC mandatory registration. 1) Generalisation: There are 2 categories in the agent banking space. a) Non-individuals: Superagents, aggregators, agent network managers, etc

“They are all registered companies. This is the category mandated by CAMA and CBN to register. This also includes any agent operating with a business or company name such as John enterprises, Bako Ventures, Kolade and Co.

"Individual agents: This includes sub-agents, agent point branches, etc This category is the real structure of financial inclusion. The poor pos agent in that rural area , garage, etc. CAMA and CBN do not mandate such categories because they are just traders like pepper/ garri sellers at the market.

"If it is not proper to ask garri seller to register with CAC, if it is illogical to ask bank branches (GTB Alaba branch, Zenith Bank Gombe branch etc ) to individually register with CAC, then it is abuse of power to drag ALL pos agents to do so."

The association also argued that CAC claims the registration is to curb fraud are deceitful because numerous registered businesses are committing fraud in Nigeria.