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The Federal Government has issued a cease-and-desist order to Point of Sale operators from behaviour that constitutes a legal violation through the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
According to The PUNCH, this comes after PoS providers made the decision to set new rates for PoS transactions under the auspices of the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria.
The new price structure went into effect on July 17, 2023.
The commission stated that PoS operators found to be in violation of the order must pay N10m for corporate entities and N1m and/or serve up to three months in jail.
The FCCPC, in a statement signed by its Executive Vice Chairman/ Chief Executive Officer, Babatunde Irukera, on Monday, said, “The commission advises PoS operators that violation of its order attracts additional consequences apart from the underlying illegal conduct that is the subject of the order such as up to N10,000,000 for corporate entities; and N1,000,000 and or a prison sentence of up to three months for individuals.”
The commission acknowledged that it did not aim to restrict the authority of Point of Sale service providers to establish and determine prices for their services as they see fit.
However, their actions must be subject to Section 127 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018, which prohibits prices that are clearly unfair or exploitative.
The statement expresses support for a pricing methodology that is determined by market forces in a free, competitive, and undistorted market.
It said there was no evidence indicating a lack of players or competition in the Point of Sale market in Lagos or any other location.
