POS operators set up task force to tackle fraud Nasarawa

The cases of fraudulent acts and financial crimes been perpetrated by some criminally minded Point of Sales (PoS) agents in Nasarawa State will soon be a trend of the past, as anyone found guilty of the acts would be sanctioned accordingly.

This was just as the state chapter of the Association of Mobile Money and Banking Agents in Nigeria (AMMBAN) has set up a 6-man Joint Task Force to tackle the issue of fraud across the state.

Noah Enesata, the State AMMBAN Chairman, said the idea behind the setting up of the task force, was to ensure secured and efficient financial service delivery by POS agents in the state.

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The occasion, which took place in Karu, the headquarters of Karu local government area of the state, had Simon Emeka-Kenneth as Chairman; Salisu Ibrahim as Secretary; Thani Godwin-John, Publicity Secretary; Victor Orih-Daniel as Mobilising Secretary; while John Enemona-Amenson, Shedrack Ilani are Members.

Members of the Task Force are expected to work closely with security agencies and other relevant stakeholders to achieving its aims and objectives in the shortest possible time.

Enesata, therefore assured of the association’s commitment to completely tackle financial crimes usually carried out via POS across Nasarawa State.

He said, “The major reason for establishing the AMMBAN Joint Task Force is to tackle fraud. This is because for one reason or the other, there are some persons that are now scared of using POS machines for their transactions, because fraudsters are beginning to take advantage of agency banking.

“In some cases, we heard of instances where armed robbers and kidnappers make use of POS machines to steal from people and collect ransom from their victims, among other illegal practices.

“Every POS operator is supposed to have a physical location, so that if there are any issues, we would know how to address them. POS operators are an extension of the bank, so even in days when the bank is not working, they are expected to serve their customers in their respective towns and communities with all sincerity.”

Enesata, assured that, the association will continue to follow all the guidelines and directives of the Central Bank of Nigeria in order to ensure a secured and efficient financial service delivery by POS operators to the entire residents of Nasarawa State.

Simon Emeka-Kenneth, the chairman of the Task Force, thanked the association for the confidence reposed in them, and promised to do everything within their powers to tackle the issues of fraud among POS operators in the state.

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He mentioned enforcement, crime reporting, investigation, public awareness, media engagement, among others, as some of their term of reference.

The JTF chairman, however lamented the current scarcity of cash in the state, and appealed to Governor Abdullahi Sule to consider collaborating with the CBN in order to address the matter.

“Part of our assignment is to go into the field and enforce the directives of the CBN and our executives. Because if you go out there, you will discover that some of the customers are no longer safe doing business with POS agents.

“Also, you will discover that there is a lot of fraud going on in the sector. We are going to make sure that we put a stop to it.

“We are going to make the environment safe for our businesses, so that customers will be comfortable while doing business with POS agents in the state,” he added.