May 13, 2018

Some traders in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), say bank charges and poor network is responsible for their inability to use Point of Sale (POS) in transacting their businesses.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that POS is any location where a sale or transaction can take place.

For retailers, POS means an area surrounding the cashier or counter where payment is accepted during checkout.

The traders and sales representatives who spoke to NAN, complained that the poor network contributed to poor sales in their businesses.

Some of the business representatives also that they stopped using POS because of some deductions they incurred when customers make payments through the machine.

At a popular Pharmacy in Apo, NAN observed that many customers declined using POS for fear of failed transaction where they would be debited and the sellers would not be credited.

Miss Agnes Nnaoma, a sales representative at the pharmacy said their POS machine was functioning well but sometimes they experienced network failure.

Nnaoma said the network failure occurred mostly when there was heavy downpour, “and this affects our sales greatly.

“Some customers come here without having cash on them and some of them don’t even do mobile transfers, thus they are not able to shop and we also cannot sell.

“Sometimes when you try using the POS, it debits the customers and we don’t get credited and this frustrates both us and the customers,’’ Nnaoma said.

At a Supermarket in Apo Fish Market, Ibrahim Hamisu, the supermarket owner also corroborated Nnaoma’s views.

“I lost sale of thousands of naira on Saturday because of network failure on my POS.

“It rained heavily and this led to poor network on my POS, so all the customers who did not have cash could not buy from me.
“I think if the government is encouraging people to go cashless, they should liaise with network providers to ensure good network at all times.
“Even some customers who wanted to do mobile transfers to my account could not do so because of bad network and this is not good for business,’’ Hamisu said.

Similarly, at a cash withdrawal unit in Apo, the agent simply known as Mr Godwin, also complained of transaction failure due to network issues.

Godwin said “three out of every ten transactions usually have issues where the customers are debited and I am not credited.

“That is why most times we usually ask the customers to do a transfer directly to our account rather than use the POS.’’

At a beer parlor in Gudu, a sales representative, Oj Caleb said they had stopped using their POS because of the many issues it created for them and their customers.

“Some customers buy items less than a thousand naira and request to use POS, which does not help our business because our POS gets debited for such small transaction.’’

However, a boutique owner at the Garki Ultra-Modern Market, Mrs Esther Lukas, said she was happy she had a POS as it had helped to increase her sales.

According to Lukas, some customers come to shop without cash and the first thing they say is, do you have a POS?
“Although, we sometimes experience network issues which is normal, the POS has really helped me in my business and I also do not have to carry much cash about,’’ she said.

Meanwhile, the Head of Operations, Fidelity Bank Plc, Martins Izuogbe said the charge of 0.7 per cent of transaction was paid by merchants who the bank deployed the POS terminals to.

According to Izuogbe, the charges are set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and not the banks, it is a regulatory charge.

“Global best practice requires the merchant NOT customer to pick up charges for the transaction.