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The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) says only about 20 per cent of Point of Sale (POS) operators in the country are registered with the commission, raising concerns over compliance with existing business regulations.
Chairman of the CAC Board, Senator Ibrahim Ida, disclosed this during a courtesy visit to the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Olanipekun Olukoyede, at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja.
Ida said the low registration level contravenes provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020 as well as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Agent Banking Regulations 2026, which require all businesses operating under a business name to be duly registered with the CAC.
He expressed concern that emerging evidence links some unregistered POS terminals to financial crimes, including the movement of ransom payments in kidnapping cases. He therefore called for stronger collaboration between the CAC and EFCC to strengthen oversight of the financial ecosystem.
The CAC chairman proposed closer cooperation in data and intelligence sharing on suspicious entities and transactions, joint public sensitisation on corporate governance, and capacity-building programmes to address emerging financial crime risks.
In response, EFCC Chairman Olukoyede said over 80 per cent of financial crimes in Nigeria are linked to procurement fraud and registered companies. He added that investigations into about 200 companies handed over by the CAC had already yielded significant findings.
Olukoyede noted that regulation of POS operators remains a major challenge requiring urgent attention, stressing the need for stronger oversight to protect the integrity of the financial system. He also called for a review of the existing Memorandum of Understanding between both agencies to deepen collaboration.
Both institutions reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening corporate regulation, improving financial integrity, and curbing illicit financial flows in the country.
