Nigeria Targets Unregistered POS Terminals Amid Financial Crime Concerns

Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC)  is seeking stronger collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)  to address financial crimes linked to unregistered businesses and improve oversight of Point of Sale (POS) operators across the country.

During a courtesy visit to the EFCC headquarters, CAC Board Chairman Senator Ibrahim M. Ida proposed closer cooperation between the two agencies to strengthen Nigeria’s financial ecosystem and tackle emerging economic crimes.

The CAC chairman expressed concern that only about 20% of POS operators in Nigeria are currently registered with the commission, despite legal requirements under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020 and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s 2026 Agent Banking Regulations, which require businesses operating under a business name to register with the commission.

According to Ida, investigations and intelligence reports have indicated that proceeds from criminal activities, including ransom payments associated with kidnapping cases, are sometimes routed through unregistered POS terminals, creating additional risks for the country’s financial system.

To address these challenges, the CAC proposed three key areas of collaboration with the EFCC. These include improved data and intelligence sharing on suspicious companies, joint public awareness campaigns on corporate governance and financial crime risks, and capacity-building programmes to help staff understand emerging threats at the intersection of company regulation and economic crime.

Responding during the meeting, EFCC Chairman Olanipekun Olukoyede said that more than 80% of financial crimes in Nigeria are carried out through procurement fraud and the use of registered companies. He noted that investigations involving 200 companies previously referred by the CAC had uncovered significant findings.

Olukoyede acknowledged that regulating POS operations remains a major challenge and emphasized the need for urgent action to protect the integrity of Nigeria’s financial system.

The EFCC chairman also called for a review of the existing memorandum of understanding between both agencies to strengthen cooperation and support broader regulatory reforms.

The discussions highlight growing concerns among regulators and law enforcement agencies about the misuse of financial services channels, particularly within the rapidly expanding POS ecosystem. As digital payments continue to grow across Nigeria, authorities are increasingly focused on improving oversight, strengthening compliance and reducing vulnerabilities that could be exploited for financial crimes.