Point of sales operators (POS) have agreed to take legal actions to address the issue regarding the deadline mandated by the Corporate Affairs Commission for its members.
The President of the National Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria, Fasasi Sarafadeen, faulted the directive, stating that all POS operators must register with the CAC. He said the directive had forced the association to go to court to seek a redress.
Sarafadeen mentioned that the directive from the CAC overruled and neglected the provision of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, which “explicitly states that the commission has no jurisdiction over individuals not operating as a company.”
He said, “According to section 863(1) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2004, the order to enforce CAC directive on individual POS agents operating under their name is wrong and will be challenged, as it contravenes the Companies and Allied Matters Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, which explicitly states that CAC has no jurisdiction over individuals not operating as a company.”
He said the body seeks legal intervention by the quoted section of the CAMA if individuals operating as a sub-agent (likened to a bank branch) must register with CAC.
Saradeen reiterates that POS agents are independent bodies and not a company. Hence, they should not partake in the directives. He cited that while financial institutions have branches across the states in the country, fintech companies like Moniepoint, amongst others, operate with a network of sub-agents.
Saradeen elaborates by saying there are two categories of point-of-sale agents, and CAMA only mandates the registration of individuals operating as a company. Therefore, individuals who register their names, such as Mohammed Jiga or Alpha Ballam, are typically profiled by financial institutions under their names.
Non-individual agents who operate under registered or unregistered business names, such as Deyemi Enterprises or Johnson Concepts, are the business bodies or agents to be forced to register with the Corporate Affairs Commission.
