E-Financial
AMMBAN Seeks Enforcement of CBN Guidelines in Tackling Abuses of Agency Banking
The Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria (AMMBAN) has called for more cohesive collaboration among stakeholders in the mobile money and agency banking sector in a bid to sanitize the industry and diffuse the challenges bedeviling it.
Speaking on Wednesday at a press conference in Lagos, in the wake of allegations of lack of coordination and regulation levelled against the sector by a member of the House of Representative, AMMBAN National President, Mr. Victor Olojo noted that the sector is well regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and has been operating under the regulatory guidelines as stipulated by the CBN.
According to him: “While appreciating the interest of the member of the House, I need to state that the financial inclusion industry in Nigeria is well regulated, and of course the financial sector is well regulated by the CBN, and the Mobile Money and Agency Banking aspect is not left out.”
He however noted that despite the framework issued by the CBN, what is lacking is enforcement. “What we are seeing is somewhat close to an abuse, a clear violation of what the framework issued out by the CBN states. One of the frameworks states that a Mobile Money or Bank Agent should be located in a brick and mortar location, an address that is traceable.
“But what we have today are agents under umbrellas, trees, and agents who are hawking with terminals. And for a very long time as early as 2021, we had written to various stakeholders highlighting these issues of concern to us.
“So, we are happy that finally this is coming out to the fore. We believe that what is lacking is enforcement. And as an association we have already taken steps in ensuring that these issues are being addressed.”
Olojo therefore called for collaboration among the various stakeholders to ensure that there is a streamlined operation in the sector, according to CBN guidelines.
Also speaking at the event, AMMBAN National PRO, Oluwasegun Elegbade highlighted the position of the Association.
The AMMBAN secretary disclosed that one of the strong resolutions that emanated from its Annual National Conference held in Abuja last year, along with robust deliberations with all critical stakeholders, was to begin to self-regulate using a special AMMBAN task force.
He explained that the Association serves the interest of all Mobile money and Bank agents in Nigeria. and is duly registered and recognised by the CBN and other relevant players in the mobile money and Agency banking sector of the country.
According to him, AMMBAN is currently in a process of taking necessary steps to ensuring that its “business space is rid of unscrupulous elements and their activities capable of derailing the laudable intentions of the government at ensuring poverty alleviation by deepening financial inclusion to the last mile. Our sincere motive and prayers have been to bring sanity to bear in our business space.”
He emphasized that Mobile money and Agency Banking are deliberate innovations of the government, which creation was borne out of the goal to ensuring all Nigerians of bankable age are financially included.
He further noted that the critical activities of mobile money and bank agents in Nigeria have, in no small measure, contributed to the enviable achievements being witnessed by the country in the financial Inclusion drive and we are proud to be a critical part of this initiative.
While acknowledging that while AMMBAN “wholeheartedly agree that the effective enforcement of regulation guiding the industry is long overdue, we will also like to correct some wrong impressions expressed in the motion moved by Honourable Jimoh Olajide as published in some National dallies on the 3rd of March, 2022.”
Elegbade while noting that in most cases member agents are the victims of fraud cases, however, said that the worrying realities lay credence to AMMBAN’s consistent calls for effective enforcement of the guidelines in the industry through the Licensed Operators.
“There is need for proper supervision of entry and conduct of activities of all players in the value chain. Agents are mostly the victims of the many crimes committed in our business space today as highlighted on the floor of the House.
“Many criminals parading themselves as customers in dire need of cash or other financial services have mastered the act of cloning bank alerts and using same for exchange of cash from the outlets of unsuspecting agents. We have instances where the sum of money involved in such incidences is so huge that the agents involved became insolvent.”
On efforts put in place to ensure adherence to CBN regulation, AMMBAN President, Oloja disclosed that the Association has been organising training and retraining exercises to ensure that the framework issued by CBN is strictly adhered to. “We have been training and retraining our members on what the expectations are.
“We know there was a time when there was rumours and concerns that agents were taking out details of customer. But we know that no member of the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents will do that. Our members are well traceable, we have our database.
We cannot say that for a fact that unscrupulous individuals now have access to PoS terminals , that is why we have continued to raise our voices from time to time to say that there is need for more coordination among the players of Mobile Money and Agency Banking in Nigeria.
So, for a fact, there are concerns, but we want to say that bulk of the issues are not from the side of the agents, but there is a need for all players to come together to see how we can address these issues.
He also disclosed that as an internal measure at AMMBAN, the Association has launched a monitoring and evaluating unit, the AMMBAN Task Force, to ensure that Mobile Money and Bank Agents registered under AMMBAN play by the rules.
Across our state chapters within the country we have been cooperating with security agencies like the DSS, the Police in addressing issues of counterfeit currencies, fraud and the likes.
He however lamented the pressure on member agents who are made to be on the receiving side whenever there is an issue, sometimes being forced to pay for customers’ loses, even when they provide all evidences required in the pursuit of fraud cases.
“We have a robust working relationship with the CBN, and others who are working towards deepening financial inclusion in Nigeria, including CBN’s Development Finance Department (DFD), Shared Agent Network Expansion Facilities (SANEF) and Enhancing Financial Inclusion Access, (EFInA)”, Oloja noted.
Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has said that all financial technology operators (Fintechs) must register with the commission before July 7, 2024, noting that operating without registration is a crime according to the provisions of the law.
Hussaini Magaji (SAN), registrar general of the Commissio, stated this at the inauguration for the centre for bulk registration of Point of Sale (PoS) operators on Wednesday.
Magaji said, “It is the requirement of the law and the guidelines which Fintechs mandate PoS operators while obtaining their machines as outlined by the CBN to register with the CAC. Therefore, operating a PoS without registering with the CAC is a crime in Nigeria and the operator ought to be jailed.
“CAC on our part are enforcing the provisions of the law which mandates every legitimate business to register with the commission either as individual, business or merchant, and the PoS operators must register, and what we are doing now is to enforce parts of the provisions of the Companies and Alllied Matters Act (CAMA).”
Speaking further, he said, “CAC was asked to penalise PoS operators who are operating without registration with a N200 form. But because of the president’s position on encouraging small businesses, we agreed that no one should be penalized, which is why we have put a time limit on a date because we have had this sensitisation since December, and by July 7, 2024, we hope to close.”
Magaji added that the registration of all POS merchants and agents across the country would go a long way in reducing crime in the country.
He said, “We have a situation where ransom is paid with POS terminals, so with the registration, we will bring out the people whose machines were used to perpetrate the crime, because the CAC will capture all your information.”
He further noted that the registration centre would be open for 24 hours for Fintechs that might want to register manually, adding that the CAC had already created a structure for the Fintechs on the commission’s portal for ease of registration, where the certificate would be automatically generated and sent to their platform. CAC Opens Centre for Registration of PoS Operators
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released the list of licenced Deposit Money Banks operating in the country.
Providing insights into the banking landscape in Nigeria, the list was made public on the CBN’s official website.
Banks with international authorisation include Access Bank Limited, Fidelity Bank Plc, First City Monument Bank Limited, First Bank Nigeria Limited, Guaranty Trust Bank Limited, United Bank of Africa Plc, and Zenith Bank Plc.
Commercial banks with national authorisation include Citibank Nigeria Limited, Ecobank Nigeria Limited, Heritage Bank Plc, Globus Bank Limited, Keystone Bank Limited, Polaris Bank Limited, Stanbic IBTC Bank Limited, Standard Chartered Bank Limited, Sterling Bank Limited, Titan Trust Bank Limited, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, Unity Bank Plc, Wema Bank Plc, Premium Trust Bank Limited and Optimus Bank Limited.
Commercial banks with regional licences are Providus Bank Limited, Parallex Bank Limited, Suntrust Bank Nigeria Limited, and Signature Bank Limited.
Players in the non-interest banking sector with national authorisation include Jaiz Bank Plc, Taj Bank Limited, Lotus Bank Limited, and Alternative Bank Limited.
In the merchant banking category, the apex banks listed, are Coronation Merchant Bank Limited, FBN Merchant Bank Limited, FSDH Merchant Bank Limited, Greenwich Merchant Bank Limited, Nova Merchant Bank Limited, and Rand Merchant Bank Limited.
The financial holding companies listed were Access Holdings Plc, FBN Holdings Plc, FCMB Group Plc, FSDH Holding Company Limited, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, and Sterling Financial Holdings Limited.
The Mauritius Commercial Bank Representative Office (Nigeria) Limited was listed as the sole representative office.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said that it will prohibit person-to-person (P2P) cryptocurrency trading in the Naira, aiming to safeguard its local currency from further depreciation and market manipulation.
This decision comes amidst concerns over the manipulation of the naira’s exchange rate by speculators operating within the P2P crypto trading sector.
Emomotimi Agama, director general, SEC, disclosed during a meeting with fintech professionals that new regulations targeted at crypto exchanges, digital asset custodians, and other sectors of the cryptocurrency industry would be introduced shortly.
The upcoming regulatory changes come amid growing concerns over the impact of cryptocurrency on the naira’s exchange rate.
Despite these developments, Agama expressed openness to dialogue with industry stakeholders.
He stressed the importance of cooperation in implementing new regulations to safeguard the crypto space.
Agama’s proactive engagement aims to reassure stakeholders unsettled by recent events, including crackdowns on global cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance.
SEC move to ‘delist’ the local currency is part of broader efforts to regulate the crypto industry. Nigeria’s decision reflects a broader global debate about how to regulate cryptocurrencies effectively.
Finding the right balance between oversight and innovation will be key to shaping a healthy crypto ecosystem that benefits everyone.
The aim is to stop people from manipulating the naira’s value.
While this sounds good, some worry it could limit access to cryptocurrencies for everyday Nigerians who rely on these platforms.
Balancing regulation and innovation is tricky. Regulation is important to protect people and ensure fair markets.
But it’s also important not to stifle new ideas. Cryptocurrencies offer new ways of doing things and can help people financially.
The challenge is to make rules that encourage this while also dealing with problems like fraud.
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