Nigeria’s Point of Sale operators are escalating tensions in the country’s financial technology space as they take aim at Verve International and its parent company Interswitch over alleged market practices they describe as restrictive and unfair.
The Association of Point of Sale Service Providers has warned that it may suspend the acceptance and processing of Verve card transactions nationwide if regulators fail to intervene. The group made its position known in a petition submitted to both the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, urging immediate attention to what it calls anti competitive and exclusive arrangements within the payment system.
According to the association, the concern centres on claims that Verve and Interswitch are using their strong position in the payments ecosystem to limit competition and push operators into exclusive agreements. The group argues that such practices go against existing regulatory guidelines and competition laws.
Given Verve’s wide usage across Nigeria’s agent banking network, any disruption in its services could have a rapid and widespread effect, particularly on millions of users who depend on POS terminals for everyday cash withdrawals and transactions.
The development comes shortly after the Central Bank of Nigeria extended the enforcement deadline for its POS terminal geo fencing framework to August 1, 2026. The adjustment was made to give payment service providers more time to comply with updated operational requirements.
Earlier directives from the apex bank had required all operators to geo tag their terminals within a specified timeframe as part of broader efforts to strengthen transaction monitoring, reduce fraud, and align with international payment messaging standards. The regulator also increased the allowable geo fence radius from 10 metres to 70 metres in a bid to ease implementation challenges.
At the same time, POS operators are already facing pressure from multiple regulatory policies, including the single principal structure, mandatory corporate registration requirements, geo fencing compliance, transaction limits, and ongoing debates around airtime lending services. Many operators say these overlapping rules are placing strain on a sector that has become central to Nigeria’s everyday financial transactions.
The scale of the industry highlights its importance. POS transactions reportedly exceeded ten trillion naira in the first quarter of 2025, supported by an estimated two million agents spread across the country. In many rural and underserved communities, these agents now serve as the primary access point to financial services, often replacing traditional bank branches and ATMs.
The current dispute has therefore raised wider concerns about competition and balance within Nigeria’s rapidly expanding payments ecosystem. While regulators maintain that recent policies are designed to improve security, transparency, and oversight, industry players argue that increasing consolidation could create new risks for operators and consumers alike.
How the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission respond to the allegations against Verve and Interswitch may determine whether the matter remains a sector dispute or develops into a broader disruption within the country’s financial services landscape.
