Report: POS operators lament as poor network, failed transactions slow down business

Point of sale (POS) operators and traders in Lagos have appealed to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and telecommunication companies to ensure uninterrupted service.

They made the appeal in separate interviews with NAN on Thursday in Lagos.

According to them, it is important to have POS machines that function well in view of the apex bank’s directive on cash withdrawal limits.

They urged the CBN to restore people’s confidence in the use of the machines to enable them to remain in business.

TheCable had reported that the CBN limited weekly cash withdrawals across all channels by individuals and corporate organisations to N500,000 and N5 million, respectively.

The policy took effect on January 9.

Recounting his experience, Divine Pataya, a trader in Oshodi Market, Lagos, said with the new policy and network disruptions, he did not think that he could continue with the business.

“When POS started, a lot of banks used it to support us; I have four POS machines from four different banks, but I had to dump three because I do not get instant alerts on transactions done through the machines,” Pataya said.

“For instance, if I have 10 customers buy from me and make payment with the POS, their money will not come in that day until the next day.

“When it eventually comes, it will be difficult for me to know who paid what because it will all come in bulk.”

Uchechi Tunji, another operator, said several times, money had been wrongly deducted from her account through POS.

“When you go to your bank to lodge the complaints, the bank will tell you that there is an intermediary that is looking into it. Sometimes it takes six months to get back your money,” she said.

“I think the CBN has a lot of work to do on that, and if the machines that are outside are not good, they need to give us good and effective ones, as we cannot go to the bank to withdraw a lot of cash again.”

For Rekiyat Suleiman, the poor network had caused her to lose a lot of customers.

She said they (customers) get angry and embarrassed whenever she tells them to wait for her to receive alerts from her bank before they leave with their goods or money.

“I am not enjoying any of the three POS machines in my store because of failed transactions due to bad network service,” she said.

“The problem is that when customers pay with POS, the receipts will be printed out and handed to them.

“For the next one hour, you will not receive a transaction alert, and you will not want to release the goods.

“This has really affected my business, it is painful and embarrassing to the customer and has made people not trust the system.”

CBN TO ENSURE BANKS RESOLVE FAILED TRANSACTIONS

Meanwhile, Zainab Abdulmumini of the consumer protection department, CBN, had said the core function of the CBN was to promote a sound financial system.

Abdulmumini spoke during a recent sensitisation tour in Balogun Market, Lagos.

She said the duty of the consumer protection department of the CBN was to protect consumers and traders, and to also ensure that they were not being exploited by their banks.

“So, the first thing to do when you have a transaction issue is to meet your bank, tell them your problem and ensure you have a tracking ID from your bank,” Abdulmumini said.

“If your bank is not really doing anything about it, or your bank has done something about it and you are not okay with it, come to CBN’s consumer protection department.”

She said accessing the consumer protection department was not difficult.

“You can reach them by sending a mail to [email protected], or walk into any CBN branch in the country,” the apex bank official explained.

“You have a right to walk into the information and client office to lodge complaints, you can write a letter to the director, consumer protection department, submit it in Abuja or in any branch of your choice, it will be handled free of charge.”