The Association of Mobile Money & Bank Agents in Nigeria, AMMBAN, has clarified that its members do not require registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, to operate Point of Sale, POS, businesses in the country.
The General Secretary of the association, Mr Elegede Segun, stated this in an interview with Daily Post, noting that POS operators are legally permitted to function as non-entities under Nigerian law.
Segun dismissed claims that there are illegal POS operators in Nigeria, insisting that existing requirements such as Call Terminal Identification with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc, NIBSS, bank accounts, Bank Verification Numbers, BVN, and National Identity Numbers, NIN, provide sufficient security and regulation for POS operators.
He questioned the basis of the CAC’s insistence on compulsory registration, saying clarity was still being awaited from the commission.
“What is baffling is the issue with the CAC, and we are waiting for them to give us clarity. Let’s know, why would you enforce registration of businesses on POS operators?” he said.
Segun further argued that other small-scale businesses are not compelled to register before operating, citing examples such as wood sellers and paper grinders.
“Is it the same with other businesses? For people who sell wood, for people who grind paper, must they register before they can function as a business in Nigeria? Because the Companies and Allied Matters Act, CAMA 2020, clearly states that you can exist either as an individual or as a non-entity,” he said.
According to him, Nigerian law does not mandate compulsory registration for individuals or partnerships engaging in business activities.
“So, you cannot force anyone. You can still do business with your own partner in Nigeria. That is what the Nigerian law has stipulated,” he added.
He also rejected statements allegedly made by some CAC officials suggesting the existence of illegal POS operators, stressing that such claims were unfounded.
“That’s not me. So, why is CAC saying that everybody doing POS must be registered? Don’t forget, I heard someone say, or maybe one or two people from the CAC said, that there are illegal POS operators. There’s nothing like illegal POS operators out there,” Segun said.
He explained that POS operations are already regulated through financial institutions and NIBSS, noting that terminals cannot be acquired or used arbitrarily.
“Because a POS operator is not like a phone that you buy anywhere. Before a POS operator can be functional in Nigeria today, they must have gotten what we call a terminal ID from NIBSS,” he stated.
Segun’s comments come amid moves by the Corporate Affairs Commission, which in December set January 2026 as the deadline to clamp down on unregistered POS operators across the country.
The CAC had also warned that fintech companies enabling the operations of unregistered POS agents would face sanctions.
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