Nigeria’s electronic payment landscape faces a major disruption as the Association of Point of Sale Service Providers threatened a nationwide halt of vital transaction services.
The group is demanding immediate intervention from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) regarding alleged restrictive market practices by two major payment firms.
In a formal statement released by its communications consultant, Yomi Idowu, the association confirmed it has filed complaints detailing ongoing violations of regulatory standards within the country’s electronic payment network.
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According to the group, the current situation flies in the face of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018 as well as specific CBN guidelines designed to govern electronic payment channels.
The association warned that if these regulatory breaches are not urgently addressed, its members, which include CBN-licensed payment acquirers, processors, and switches, may completely cease processing, acquiring, and switching Verve card transactions across the country.
The operators explained that they are considering this extreme measure because the ongoing practices are eroding trust in the country’s payment infrastructure, creating severe financial strain for participating institutions, and directly violating strict compliance regulations.
At the heart of the dispute are several serious grievances. The association has accused the two payment firms of maintaining exclusive control over Verve card transaction processing and abusing their market dominance within the domestic card space.
Furthermore, the operators allege that they are being hit with charges that exceed the regulated merchant service limits established for acquirers, alongside unauthorized funds being deducted from settlement accounts belonging to acquirers and switching entities.
The association pointed out that other card schemes in the Nigerian market have already successfully restructured their operations to comply with regulatory demands for open competition and fair, open access. By contrast, the failure of the disputed firms to adjust has left the POS operators prepared to pull the plug on services if a regulatory resolution is not reached.
