Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has announced that all unregistered Point-of-Sale (PoS) operators across Nigeria will be shut down effective Jan. 1, 2026.

PoS

In a statement issued on Saturday, the Commission described the proliferation of unregistered PoS terminals as a “reckless practice” that violates the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020 and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) agent banking regulations.

According to the CAC, security agencies will enforce compliance nationwide, while unregistered PoS terminals will be seized or shut down.

The Commission further disclosed that financial technology (fintech) firms enabling illegal transactions are now under strict surveillance, with violators to be placed on a watchlist and reported to the CBN.

“The CAC has observed the rising number of PoS operators running without registration, violating CAMA 2020 and CBN Agent Banking Regulations.

“This reckless practice, often enabled by some fintech companies, puts Nigeria’s financial system and citizens’ investments at risk. This must stop,” the statement read.

It advised all operators to begin the registration process immediately, stressing that compliance is compulsory.

The Commission warned that the proliferation of unregistered PoS operators exposes Nigeria’s financial system and citizens’ funds to significant risks, adding that the new directive is aimed at safeguarding financial integrity and consumer protection.

Nigeria CommnicationsWeek reports that the CAC concluded its statement with a firm reminder: “Compliance is mandatory.”

Africa’s workforce is embracing artificial intelligence (AI) at a faster pace than global peers, but pressure is mounting for organisations to ramp up digital skills development as generative AI (GenAI) begins reshaping roles across industries.

This is according to PwC’s Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2025, which shows a continent ready for AI-enabled transformation, but facing a narrowing window to prepare, through skills development initiatives.

The survey, covering nearly 50 000 workers worldwide and 1 753 across South Africa, Algeria, Kenya, Morocco and Nigeria, finds that African employees are already integrating AI into daily operations.

Sixty-four percent of respondents in Africa used AI tools in the past year, compared to 54% globally, and the sentiment is overwhelmingly positive. While only 17% report using GenAI every day, confidence in its benefits is high: 76% believe GenAI improves work quality, and 72% expect AI-driven productivity gains within three years.

In SA, executives are even more bullish, as 91% say AI has already lifted both productivity and work quality — a signal that leadership is pushing harder toward AI-enabled ways of working, notes the survey.

However, this optimism is coupled with rising concern about future readiness. Only 35% of African workers believe their skills will still be relevant three years from now. With GenAI expected to affect nearly half of all job roles, PwC warns that the continent’s workforce risks falling behind unless organisations accelerate large-scale reskilling.

Despite the pressures, employees are not standing still. PwC notes that African workers outperform their global peers in proactive learning, recording 15% higher participation in skills-building and receiving 6% more support from managers. This indicates that both workers and immediate supervisors recognise the pace of AI adoption and are pushing to adapt.

PwC Africa people and organisation leader, Dr Dayalan Govender, says the moment calls for decisive leadership. Organisations, he argues, must integrate AI into workforce strategies, accelerate digital adoption, and expand upskilling programmes at scale.

“Africa’s workforce is optimistic and ready for change, but leaders must accelerate digital adoption and invest in future-ready skills to convert this optimism into sustainable growth,” he says.

Beyond the technology shift, the survey captures a workforce hungry for growth but constrained by financial pressure. Many employees are preparing to make career moves: 45% plan to request a raise, and another 45% aim for a promotion in the next year. Yet household financial stability remains strained, with only a third of respondents reporting any money left over for savings.

Still, Africa’s workplaces continue to show strong foundations of trust and purpose — elements PwC believes will be critical in navigating GenAI disruption. More than 55% of workers trust management, and two-thirds say their work feels meaningful, both above global averages.

With AI adoption rising and employees motivated to reinvent their careers, PwC warns that the coming years will determine whether Africa’s early optimism translates into long-term competitiveness as GenAI transforms the world of work.

The report calls for embedding AI into workforce strategies to bridge the gap between optimism and practical adoption, scaling upskilling initiatives to prepare for GenAI disruption, and fostering trust and psychological safety to retain talent and drive innovation.

“For employers, these findings are a stark reminder that they can and should do more to help workers understand, adopt, and embrace AI’s transformative power.

“Employers may need to pay special attention to entry-level workers, nearly a third of whom say they’re worried to a large or very large extent about AI’s impact on their future, even as they’re also curious (47%) and optimistic (38%) about its long-term societal effects,” notes the report.

Nigerian organisations are facing the highest volume of weekly cyberattacks in Africa, according to the newly released African Perspectives on Cyber Security Report 2025 by Check Point Software Technologies Ltd., a global leader in cybersecurity solutions.

The report revealed that Nigerian firms experience an average of 4,200 attacks per week, significantly higher than the continental average of 3,153 and 60 per cent above the global average of 1,963 attacks per organisation.

The findings highlight a sharp rise in attacks across Africa, driven largely by artificial intelligence-enabled threats.

Kingsley Oseghale, country manager for West Africa at Check Point, said attackers are increasingly using AI to automate phishing, impersonation, and cloud exploitation.

“AI has become part of the attack surface,” Oseghale said. “Attackers are using it to automate phishing and identity theft at scale. The only effective response is prevention-first security that combines visibility, governance, and AI protection.”

The report noted that cybercriminals are exploiting exposed identities and misconfigured systems to target critical sectors, including finance, energy, telecoms, and government.

Identity-led intrusions, AI-generated phishing campaigns, and multi-vector ransomware are on the rise.

Across the continent, Check Point identified key trends in different markets. Nigeria is experiencing business email compromise and cloud exploitation; South Africa faces rising ransomware, smishing, and botnet infections such as Vo1d and XorDDoS; Kenya has seen ransomware targeting critical energy infrastructure; and Morocco has experienced coordinated government and education-sector disruptions via DDoS and website defacement attacks.

The report highlights five major shifts shaping Africa’s cyber risk in 2025.

Traditional ransomware has evolved into data-leak extortion, AI-generated deception is widespread, and identity has emerged as the new security perimeter.

Weak cybersecurity, the report warned, can now affect international market access under regulations such as the EU’s NIS2 Directive, making digital resilience an economic necessity.

The study urged African businesses and governments to adopt prevention-first security strategies, including continuous risk assessment, regulatory readiness, and public-private collaboration.

Oseghale emphasised that, as AI reshapes operations, cybersecurity must shift from reaction to prediction.

“The real challenge is not adopting new technology but securing the trust that underpins it,” he said.