business
POS Operators Adds 10% increment to Charges As Naira Scarcity Extends
Mr Godwin Emefiele, Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed commercial banks to begin the payment of the redesigned naira notes to customers over the counter. Emefiele gave the directive in a statement posted on CBN website on Thursday and signed by the director of cooperate communications Mr. Osita Nwanisob.
Emefiele noted that the new directive would address the challenge of queues been experienced at the various commercial banks across the country.
The governor said, “while reiterating our commitment to Nigerians to ensure the effective distribution of the newly introduced naira banknotes, we urge them to exercise patience as the CBN is working assiduously to address the challenge of queues at ATMs.”
According to him, in line with this resolve, the commencement of the payment of the redesigned Naira notes over the counter is subject to a maximum daily payout limit of N20,000.
CBN Governor also said the bank had observed with concern, the activities of persons who were selling the newly redesigned banknotes and the queues at ATMs.
He expressed worry that unregistered persons and non-bank officials had been swapping banknotes for members of the public, purportedly on behalf of the CBN, among other financial instituition.
The CBN boss also noted that It was collaborating with the relevant security agencies to address the unpatriotic practice.
Meanwhile, Point of Sale (POS) agents in parts of Nigeria have begun to take advantage of naira notes scarcity to demand extra charges on every transaction made by customers.
POS users have filed complaints and reports that most all the POS agents visited around Lagos , Abuja and Makurdi had increased their charges from 0.02 per cent to 10 per cent on every N5,000, while 0.03 per cent to 10 per cent on transaction between N5,000 to N10,000.
NAN reports that most customers who were in dire need need of cash were seen paying the charges.
Some of the agents told our correspondent that the increased charges was because of scarcity of cash (old and new notes) at banks, while the few that had charged them exorbitantly.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had ordered banks to load their Automated Teller Machines (ATM) with the new naira notes to ensure Nigerians had access to it.
The redesigned naira notes, comprising N200, N500 and N1000, came into use on Dec. 15, 2022, after they were unveiled by President Muhammadu Buhari on Nov. 23, 2022 in Abuja.
The CBN had earlier fixed Jan. 31 as deadline for the collection of old naira notes, but later extended the time limit to Feb. 10.
The CBN governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, said the extension was to allow Nigerians that had naira legitimately earned and trapped, the opportunity to deposit their money for exchange.
