…Give reasons
The Association of Point of Sale Service Providers (PoS) may suspend and cripple banking operations in the country if the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection (FCCPC) fail to immediately intervene in the alleged exclusivity practice by Verve International and Interswitch Limited.
The association made the disclosure in a statement signed by its Communications Consultant, Yomi Idowu.
Observers say the move that could affect millions of customers and merchants who rely on PoS terminals for daily business activities.
According to Idowu, the PoS operators had written a letter to protest the alleged persistent unlawful decisions of the two companies, noting that the actions of Verve and Interswitch negate “extant rules and regulations of the CBN and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPC), 2018”.
The association emphasised that “as representatives of a coalition comprising several CBN licenced payment acceptors/acquirers, processors and switches,” they would have no option than to suspend acceptance/acquiring, processing and switching of Verve Card transactions.
It added that the decision became unavoidable due to the persistent and escalating unlawful conduct of Verve International and Interswitch Limited, which “jointly undermine the integrity of Nigeria’s payments ecosystem, erode the capital base of participating institutions and violate several regulatory requirements”.
The group urged both the CBN and FCCPC to investigate the allegations and take immediate steps to ensure compliance with regulatory standards, promote fair competition and safeguard the integrity of Nigeria’s digital payment ecosystem.
