By Chisaa Okoye (Business reporter)
Operatives of the Independence Corrupt Practices and other related offenses Commission (ICPC), and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Tuesday arrested four Point Of Sale, POS, operators in Makurdi for collecting exorbitant charges for transactions.
The team, led by the CBN Director of Financial Markets, Dr. Angela-Sere Ejembi, carried out the operation in parts of the city, where they visited several POS operators in the Wurukum, North Bank, Wadata, High Level, and Gboko Road areas of the town, among others, to monitor their activities.
The arrested POS operators were later handed over the EFCC for interrogation and possible prosecution.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, Tuesday vowed to ensure that any POS operator who collects more than N200 charge for any transaction is arrested and prosecuted.
Emefiele said this during a meeting with members of the diplomatic corps.
In Lagos and environs, POS operators now charge as much N1000 for cash withdrawal transaction of N5000; N2000 for N10,000 and N10,000 for N100,000.
Some of them claim bank officials sell the naira notes to them at exorbitant rates, while others claim they buy the naira notes they sell from petrol stations’ attendants.
Prior to the cash crunch, the operators charge N100 for N5000, N200 for N10,00 and between N300 and N400 for N20,000, which users consider as high.
Emefiele stated yesterday that no POS operator should charge more than N200 for any transaction.