Hussaini Magaji, the Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), made this disclosure at the formal launch of the CAC registration of agents and merchants of fintechs in Abuja.

The government’s action, backed by Section 863, Subsection 1 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020, as well as the 2013 Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) guidelines on agent banking, aims to safeguard businesses and strengthen the economy.

Magaji reiterated the government’s commitment to fully implementing the mandate by providing a fully digitized service center for easy registration. He emphasized that the registration process aligns with both legal requirements and the directives of the CBN mandating individual merchants or business entities to be captured in its database.

The 60-day deadline for registration, ending on July 7th, will not be extended, and defaulters will face appropriate sanctions. Magaji stated, “After the deadline, we would go after defaulters. If you have been identified as a criminal, security agents will go after you, we will go after them because some are being chased by the security agencies already.”

He highlighted the benefits of registration, which go beyond taxation to encompass access to loans, legality, and compliance with regulatory requirements.

“The law has stated that for any person to carry out business activity in the country, your business must be legitimate, and for your business to be legitimate, you must register, either you are doing your business as an individual or as an agent, you must register with us,” he explained.

The initiative, Magaji emphasized, aims to curb crime and fraudulent practices, particularly incidents where ransom is paid using PoS terminals. He assured that registered businesses would provide detailed information to the government, aiding security agencies in tracking down criminals.

The deadline for registration, originally set for July 7th, provides PoS operators with six months to comply with the directive.

It also vowed that security agencies would go after PoS operators who fail to comply with the directive to register with the Corporate Affairs Commission after July 7, 2024.

The Registrar-General, CAC,  Hussaini Magaji, disclosed this at the formal launch of the CAC registration of agents and merchants of fintechs on Wednesday in Abuja.

The event also marked the unveiling of a 24-hour service centre to help prospective applicants get a prompt response to enquiries and approvals.

The government had through the commission on Monday issued a two-month registration deadline for PoS operators to register as corporate bodies with the commission in line with the legal requirements and directives of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The action backed by Section 863, Subsection 1 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, CAMA 2020 as well as the 2013 CBN guidelines on agent banking aims to safeguard businesses and strengthen the economy.

It also came against the backdrop of frequent fraud incidents involving PoS terminals and plans to stop trading in cryptocurrency or any virtual currency by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

This was contained in a new memo to banks issued on Tuesday and signed by the Director of Banking Supervision, Haruna .B. Mustafa.

The memo revealed that individuals will only be able to withdraw N100,000 per week ( from over the counter, Point of Sale Machines, or Automated Teller Machines), while organisations can access N500,000 per week.

Banks have also been directed to load only N200 and lower denominations into their ATM.

The memo read, “Further to the launch of the redesigned naira notes by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Wednesday, November 23, 2022, and in line with the cashless policy of the CBN, all deposit money banks and other financial institutions are hereby directed to note and comply with the following:

“1. The maximum cash withdrawal over the counter by individuals and corporate organisations per week shall henceforth be N100,000 and N500,000 respectively. Withdrawals above these limits shall attract processing fees of 5% and 10%, respectively.

“2. Third-party cheques above N50,000 shall not be eligible for payment over the counter, while extant limits of N10,000,000 on clearing cheques still subsist.

“3. The maximum cash withdrawal per week via Automated Teller Machine shall be N100,000 subject to a maximum of N20,000 cash withdrawal per day.

“4. Only denominations of N200 and below shall be loaded into the ATMs.

“5. The maximum cash withdrawal via the point of sale terminal shall be N20,000 daily.”

The  CBN said in compelling circumstances, not exceeding once a month, where cash withdrawals above the prescribed limits would be required for legitimate purposes, such cash withdrawals shall not exceed N5,000,000.00 and N10,000,000.00 for individuals and corporate organisations, respectively, and shall be subject to the referenced processing fees in (1) above, in addition to enhanced due diligence and further information requirements.

It also said banks were required to obtain the following information at the minimum and upload same on the CBN portal created for the purpose:

“a. Valid means of identification of the payee (National Identity Card, International Passport, Drivers License.). b. Bank Verification Number of the payee. c. Notarised customer declaration of the purpose of the cash withdrawal. d. Senior management approval for the withdrawal by the Managing Director of the drawee, where applicable. e. Approval in writing by the MD/CEO of the bank authorising the withdrawal.

“Please further note the following: i. Monthly returns on cash withdrawal transactions above the specified limits should be rendered to the Banking Supervision Department. ii. Compliance with extant AMUCFT regulations relating to the KYC, ongoing customer due diligence and suspicious transaction reporting etc., is required in all circumstances. iii. Customers should be encouraged to use alternative channels (internet banking, mobile banking apps, USSD, cards/POS. eNaira, etc.) to conduct their banking transactions.

“Finally, please note that aiding and abetting the circumvention of this policy will attract severe sanctions.

“The above regulatory directives take effect nationwide from January 9, 2023. Please be guided accordingly,” the memo added.