Israel Adebiyi 

As part of efforts to sanitize the financial ecosystem and curb fraudulent practices, a major profiling initiative targeting Point of Sales (POS) agents has commenced in Edo State.

The initiative was unveiled at a stakeholders’ townhall meeting held in Benin City, facilitated by the Agent Taskforce Framework. 

The coalition comprises the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria (AMMBAN), the Edo State Taskforce, and the Nigeria Police Force.

Speaking during the meeting, the Acting Chairman of AMMBAN in Edo State, Juliette Madueke, said the profiling exercise was a timely intervention following a surge in complaints regarding fraudulent activities perpetrated by some POS operators.

According to her, "As agency banking space continues to expand, so do the challenges of regulation, security and professionalism. This is why agent profiling has become a priority; to ensure that every operator is known, trained and compliant with both CBN guidelines on Agency Banking and also, the Agent Joint Task force (AJTF) Framework."

“We have received a mirage of complaints from customers who have fallen victim to fraudulent POS operators. It is in the interest of the public and the credibility of the agent banking industry that we carry out this profiling to weed out bad actors”, she added. 

Also lending her voice, Assistant Manager at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Uwaila Odum, described the initiative as a necessary step to rebuild trust in the financial sector. 

“This exercise has come at a crucial time. It is important that we work together to restore sanity and accountability within the system,” she stated.

She stressed the need for compliance with the CBN guidelines for Mobile Money Services in Nigeria. "The objectives of these guidelines are to ensure a structured and orderly development of the mobile money services in Nigeria with clear definition of  various participants  and their expected roles and responsibilities. Also it is to specify the minimum technical and business requirements for the various participants recognized for the mobile money service industry in Nigeria." 

" Lastly is to promote safety and effectiveness of mobile money services and thereby enhance user confidence in the service."

The Commandant of the Agent Joint Taskforce, Imade Efosa, clarified that the profiling was not intended as a witch-hunt but as a constructive effort to uphold standards in financial services. “Our goal is not to victimize any agent but to ensure that customers are protected and the integrity of the financial system is maintained,” he noted.

He decried situations where POS agents take their POS machines from one location to another for operations insisting that each POS terminal must operate on the areas where it was captured. 

He stressed that such unchecked migration had led to untraceable frauds by POS operators. He added that going forward, profiled POS agents would have to wear reflective jackets with their name tags for proper identification

The profiling exercise is expected to span between four to six weeks, after which full enforcement will commence.

Stakeholders at the event reaffirmed their commitment to collaborating on the initiative and called on all POS agents in the state to cooperate with the taskforce.