PoS Operators Ejected From Residential Areas In Abuja, Excluded From CBN’s Swap Project

Point of sale (PoS) operators have been ejected from the residential environment in Abuja by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).

The coordinator of the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), Umar Shuaibu, said the PoS operators were asked to relocate to commercial areas.

Shuaibu said the PoS operators have been operating against the Abuja master plan by establishing outlets in residential areas instead of neighbourhood centres.

He asserted that the operators have taken over streets, which is a threat to security in the areas they operate. He said the authority will no longer accept the indiscriminate operations of PoS operators. 

According to some media reports, Shuaibu said: “We have neighborhood centres and city centres, all of these centres have commercial areas, so whatever someone needs within the neighbourhood provided is within the neighbourhood centres is available, no need to take over the street, that is how the master plan was designed.” 

“Financial services are brought closer to the people because of the CBN cashless policy that is why we have POS operators, let there be sanity. 

“However, there are challenges, the point of sale operators do not operate in the areas that they are supposed to operate, according to the provision of the master plan,” the Abuja Metropolitan Management coordinator also stated.

He assured that: “Going forward, all operators must shift to commercial locations,” as Abuja Metropolitan Management plan to ensure strict compliance with the master plan. 

The relocation of PoS operators comes at a period the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is collaborating with PoS merchants to swap the old naira for new currencies in areas that are underserved by the banking system.

CBN said: “In recognition of the need to maximise the channels through which underserved and rural communities can exchange their Naira, the Bank is launching a cash swap programme in parthership with Super Agents & DMBs. 

“The programme enables citizens in rural areas or those with limited access to formal financial services to exchange old Naira notes for redesigned notes.” 

However, the central bank excluded Abuja and Lagos PoS operators from the cash swap programme, limiting the partnership to other states.