Fintech companies will be put on notice by the Corporate Affairs Commission, which also warned that companies that enable unregistered Point of Sale operators will be blacklisted and reported to the Central Bank of Nigeria for regulatory action.
- Fintech companies will be put on notice by the Corporate Affairs Commission, which also warned that companies that enable unregistered...
- In a public notice published on Saturday, the Commission threatened to harm Nigeria’s financial system by calling the practice “reckless”.
- In June 2023, Palmpay revealed that it had surpassed 500,000 PoS agents nationwide, while Moniepoint records over 303,000 agents, accounting...
- January 1, 2026 deadline According to the Commission, no PoS operator will be permitted to conduct business without CAC registration as...
Keep reading for the full breakdown on CAC — everything you need to know is covered below.
In a public notice published on Saturday, the Commission threatened to harm Nigeria’s financial system by calling the practice “reckless”.
The warning focuses on the business strategy that has fuelled the rapid expansion of mobile money operations across Nigeria, where fintech companies are actively expanding their agent networks without ensuring compliance with registration regulations.
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The leading companies in Nigeria’s agency banking market are Opay, Moniepoint, and Palmpay.
With over 563,000 agents, or roughly 37 per cent of all banking agents, Opay runs the biggest agent network in the nation, according to a 2023 report.
In June 2023, Palmpay revealed that it had surpassed 500,000 PoS agents nationwide, while Moniepoint records over 303,000 agents, accounting for roughly 20 per cent of the market.
Why focus on fintech firms
These fintech companies control the majority of Nigeria’s estimated 1.9 million PoS agents, making them the focal point of the CAC’s enforcement action.
The Commission clarified in its statement that the onus of guaranteeing agent compliance extends beyond individual operators to the fintech platforms that supply them with infrastructure and terminals.
PoS transaction volumes have hit previously unheard-of heights, prompting the CAC warning. PoS terminals processed 10.51 trillion naira in the first quarter of 2025, up 301.67 per cent from the same period the year before, according to data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System.
The sector has become an essential part of Nigeria’s payments infrastructure, with 5.90 million PoS terminals deployed as of March 2025 and 8.36 million registered nationwide.
January 1, 2026 deadline
According to the Commission, no PoS operator will be permitted to conduct business without CAC registration as of January 1, 2026. The directive will be enforced nationwide by security agencies, and unregistered terminals may be seized or shut down.
The CAC warned that these operations jeopardise citizens’ investments and characterised the increase in unregistered operators as a violation of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 and the CBN Agent Banking Regulations.
This is the Commission’s second significant effort to compel PoS operators to register.
The CAC issued a directive in May 2024 requiring agents using fintech platforms to register by July 7, 2024. Following that, the deadline was moved to September 5, 2024, and violators faced the possibility of legal action and business closure.
Opposition from PoS agents
The Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria, however, opposed that enforcement attempt, claiming that the requirement violated provisions of the 2004 Companies and Allied Matters Act. The case went to trial, and hearings are set for September.
Given the regulatory pressures already on the fintech industry, the threat of reporting non-compliant firms to the CBN carries significant weight. As part of a larger initiative to reduce fraud and enhance oversight, the CBN placed restrictions in August 2025 mandating that all PoS terminals operate within a 10-meter radius of their registered addresses.
According to data from the apex bank, 26.37 per cent of all fraud incidents in 2023 occurred through PoS channels.
By April 1, 2026, PoS operators will be required to select exclusive relationships with a single principal institution, according to extensive new agent banking guidelines issued by the CBN in October 2025.
Agents are not permitted to run terminals for more than one fintech platform at a time, which is a common practice that has enabled operators to maximise transaction volumes.
In its statement, the CAC emphasised compliance was required but did not outline the additional penalties the apex bank might impose.