E-Financial
Super Agents, Agents Locked in PoS Chargeback Confusion
Super Agents and agents under them in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) financial inclusion initiative are today locked in Point of Sale chargeback issues, which has resulted in some agents going out of business, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek has learnt.
One of the cases involves Innovectives a super- agent in Shared Agent Network Expansion Facilities (SANEF) programme and Ecosystems Hybrid Network, where Innovectives according Ecosystem have under paid her and agents under its channel to a turn of N15 million arising from PoS chargeback between January and July this year.
Fasasi Sarafadeen Atanda, managing director, Ecosystem Hybrid Network, said the issue has lingered for this long because there is no dispute mechanism in settlement issues between providers and agents.
“The issues around PoS chargeback are beyond debit of customers as there is no complaint mechanism in place for financial inclusion services.
“In a formal banking system, there is complaint mechanism where customers are allowed to lodge complaint and tracking number given to them; if such issue were not resolved the customer can escalate it to CBN with the tracking number.
“For Agency banking, which is informal and still financial service the mechanism of formal should not be used in resolving complaints as the scenario are different.
Responding to the claims, Emmanuel Agha, chief executive officer, Innovectives, said that what his company owes Ecosystem is N8.6million of which N2million has been paid.
“The way PoS chargeback is structured, you have to wait for the banks to pay you and this takes a long time for it to be resolved,” he said.
He added that because other agents are involved in the issues his company has started paying Ecosystem without waiting for banks to refund her, noting that the issue of PoS chargeback with agents is not peculiar to his company but an industry issue that needs to be address.
Explaining PoS chargeback and its delay as frustrating for PoS as a payment channel, Tosin Eniolorunda, chief executive officer, TeamApt, said: “chargeback is when a customer buys goods or service at a point of sale terminal and was debited but the PoS did not print receipt showing a successful transaction, because it did not print a receipt, the merchant will refuse to give the customer the goods he requested for, while your account have been debited. In this situation, you will have to go to your own bank which is not the bank of your merchant and file a claim of your money that is called chargeback.
“The problem is resolved today by your bank logging it against the merchant and the merchant bank needs to investigate if that claim is correct or not, if it is true he did not give the customer the value, he will attest to the bank that it is true and for his bank to return the money to the customer. If it is not true the bank will request for evidence that the merchant actually gave the customer the value.
“The evidence that is accepted today in the industry is a paper receipt. That paper that was printed from the PoS, you need to go and get it, scan it and attest to the bank you gave that customer his value for the money not to be refunded.
“Imagine a very larger merchant that prints a lot of receipts you need to be storing PoS receipts and that receipt fads away with time.
“This challenge is why merchants are crying about chargebacks because they cannot respond appropriately and have only three days to do that before they will be charged. The way to solve it is to prevent the merchants from needing to present receipt which is through e-journal,” he explained.
Electronic journal is ability of PoS to keep an evidence of all its transactions, when it keeps all those evidences; it sends them to a remote server at the bank of the merchant.
“POS has the capacity to do electronic journal. A regulatory push for PTSPs to implement e-journal will go a long way to addressing this problem. If regulator mandates that operators should implement e-journal in the next two months it will be done”.
Federal High Court in Lagos has fixed July 1, 2025, for the commencement of trial in a money laundering case involving Cititrust Holdings PLC and three of its subsidiaries.
The subsidiaries are Cititrust Funding PLC, Cititrust Credit Limited and Cititrust Financial Services Limited,
The companies are facing an eight-count charge filed by a team of prosecutors from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), comprising Anasoh Henry Onyekachi, Frankklin Ofoma, Abdulhamid Lamido Tukur, and A.A. Usman.
According to the charge, between 2021 and 2023, the companies, all incorporated in Nigeria, allegedly operated investment management services without a valid licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
This act contravenes Section 57 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020 and is punishable under Section 57(5) of the same legislation.
The prosecution also alleged that the companies conducted a Collective Investment Scheme without registering with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), another violation of regulatory requirements.
In one of the counts, Cititrust Credit Limited is specifically accused of failing to report high-value financial transactions to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).
These transactions include a N20 million transfer on January 7, 2021; a N200 million transfer on April 4, 2021; and a N200 million lodgement on January 29, 2021.
Additionally, both Cititrust Credit Limited and Cititrust Financial Services Limited are alleged to have made a single transfer and lodgement respectively of N42 million into their bank accounts on January 29, 2021, without proper disclosure to relevant authorities.
The alleged offences are in breach of Sections 11(1)(b) and 11(3) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2022, as well as Section 54(1) of the Investment and Securities Act 2007, and are punishable under the respective laws.
The court is expected to begin full proceedings on July 1.
Ecobank Nigeria’s long-term issuer credit rating has been downgraded to ‘CCC-’ from CCC, with the outlook placed at negative by S&P Global Ratings. This is a resultant effect of the $150 million bond buyback offer on the bank’s $300 million Senior Unsecured Eurobond.
Part of the tender offer made by Ecobank includes an early tender premium of $12.50 for every $1,000 in principal (equivalent to 1.25%), with the anticipated settlement date set for July 8, 2025. The offer also requests bondholders’ consent to eliminate the capital adequacy covenant on the outstanding notes.
These actions also led S&P to downgrade the $300 million Eurobond from ‘CCC’ to ‘CCC-’. Although S&P notes that it does not consider the tender offer a distressed debt restructuring.
However, this assessment is at risk of changing if the bank does not receive the promised capital injection from the parent group, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI).
Following the naira devaluation, Ecobank was unable to meet the regulatory Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) requirement, as its CAR dropped to 7 per cent. This was below the 10 percent regulatory minimum. The breach of the CAR caused the bank to seek the consent of its bondholders to pause the capital adequacy notes on the Eurobond notes till September 2025.
Following this development, the bank received a $50 million prepayment on promissory notes from its parent company, ETI, along with early repayments on certain foreign currency loans. However, it has been insufficient in restoring the capital adequacy to regulatory levels.
According to S&P, the bank is expected to receive another $50 million capital injection from its parent group before August 2025. However, the ratings agency notes that if the bank is unable to receive this capital injection, it will inevitably default on its bonds. A situation that would cause a further downgrade to ‘CC’.
It was recommended that Ecobank Nigeria consider raising $150 million through additional Tier-1 instruments to strengthen its liquidity buffers. Additionally, the bank was advised to intensify efforts to recover its foreign currency-denominated loans.
Sofri, Powered by Links Microfinance Bank plans a massive rollout of Point of Sale, PoS terminals for merchants and agency banking in the third quarter of this year.
This is coming against the backdrop of the banks revamp of its digital platforms to support better customer experience.
Paul Adebayo, managing director, Sofri, said the bank is technology and purpose-driven, with focus on financial inclusion and sustainability. As well with the determination of making banking simpler, inclusive, and impactful.
He said that the revamped mobile app features, faster onboarding, cleaner interface, real-time alerts, enhanced security and seamless loan applications.
“Our corporate internet banking Launched for SMEs and institutional clients features, secure payments, transfers, account management and enhances business banking experience.
“Laying the groundwork for greater reliability, product innovation and operational efficiency is our new core banking infrastructure. This change enables us to scale faster and serve customers better.
“Our Terminal Management System (TMS) improves the performance, uptime, and remote monitoring of our POS terminals. This ensures merchants and field agents enjoy better stability, quicker settlements, and stronger support,” he added.
On sustainability impact, Adebayo, added that Sofri is embedding ESG principles into its lending and operational models — from offering green financing options, to supporting waste-to-wealth entrepreneurs, and making inclusive finance part of Nigeria’s circular economy.
Sofri is a trademark of Links Microfinance Limited (Links Mfb). Links Mfb is licensed and regulated by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and deposits insured by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC). Links Mfb is a member of DLM Capital Group, owners of DLM Asset Management as regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
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