Point of Sale (PoS) operators who have had to resort to buying cash from traders have said their businesses are already shrinking due to shortage of cash at banks.
Banks have in recent weeks been struggling to pay many customers who want to withdraw their money due to a cash shortage in the banking system.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) attributed the scarcity to the hoarding of the naira noted by some persons due to challenges experienced during the naira redesign project.
“The CBN has adequate cash to meet the day-to-day transaction needs of Nigerians. We appeal to Nigerians to be patient while the CBN does the needful to ensure the availability of cash, particularly during the yuletide and beyond,” said Hakama Ali, acting director, corporate communications, said.
A Nigerian living in the United States who recently visited the country to celebrate Christmas and New Year with his relatives told BusinessDay that all efforts he had made to access naira had proven abortive.
Read also: PoS operators return to cash buying as scarcity hits banks
He said, “Ahead of my arrival, I sent N2 million to my sister a one month ago to help me cash, do you know that she has gotten only N250,000 cash. This is not good news for me because I have been thinking since she told me how I can stay this season in the country where cash is king.
“In the USA, cash is not king because every payment channel is effective for all your transactions, so nobody bothers to hold cash anyway. If Nigeria’s payment systems are effective, no one would also bother about holding naira. Our government should do something about this. Now the naira is scarce; how does one even handle this situation this season.”
BusinessDay spoke to different PoS operators on the impact of the cash scarcity on their business. They said they have had to explore different sources for cash, and that their businesses are shrinking as they are unable to meet their customers’ demand.
An operator who simply identified herself as Kabeerah of HasbunalLah Ventures said: “We are buying cash from market sellers and traders. We buy N30,000 with a charge of N300, and N50,000 with N500. Also, we get cash from deposits, but instead of charging, we sometimes do it for free or the owners charge us.”
She said she had been unable to withdraw from any Automated Teller Machines (ATM), while the maximum amount of money she withdrew over the counter of several banks was N10,000.
Another POS operator, Maria of Happy Maria Ventures, said she doesn’t even bother going to the bank at all.
She said: “It is time wasting. I get my money from market women, and my customers who want to deposit. Sometimes, they deposit N100,000.” Although she said that her bank still pays a maximum of N50,000 over the counter, she prefers to source her cash elsewhere.
“I have three machines which I normally use for many customers, but I only use one now. No cash for that,” she said.
Another PoS operator who declined to be identified said she gets her cash from her brother who works at a fuel station. “He gives me cash from his petrol work, and I transfer it to the company account. I get enough because of the work.”
An operator in Ikoyi said she was able to withdraw N50,000-N100,000 over the counter of the bank she uses.
Read also: PoS operators still in business as consumers weary of long queues in banks, ATM
Mariam Abebi, a food seller along Badore road, in Ajah, Lagos, said that the cash crunch has not affected her business because customers pay through her PoS machine. “People are buying food; it’s not as bad as the last cash crunch.”
In the Ikorodu area of Lagos, some PoS operators at the garage were charging the usual fee of N100 for N5,000 and several traders were also accepting transfers.
“The cash scarcity isn’t as bad as before, although people are scared it might become bad. At Ikorodu where I live, it isn’t scarce but Ajah where I sometimes trade, I pay more to get cash from PoS operators,” Kehinde Akeem, building material trader, said.
While some traders have said the cash scarcity has not affected their sales, some who buy their goods from local producers in rural areas are faced with the challenge of how to pay their suppliers.
Read also: Cash availability forces PoS operators to slash charges
“I have accepted several payments through my PoS and transfers but I still beg my customers sometimes to pay with cash or use PoS agents so I can get cash,” Chibuike, a wholesale raw food vendor at Ilaje market, said.
He said that he does this so he can get enough cash to restock.
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