Supreme Court Ruling: PoS Charges Fall by 90% as CBN Awaits Legal Advice
- PoS operators have begun accepting the old naira notes following the Supreme Court ruling
- The court’s ruling has crashed PoS charges by about 90 per cent as cash becomes available
- However, CBN says it is awaiting legal advice before deciding whether to implement the Supreme Court ruling
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There has been a charge crash by Point of Sale operators following the Supreme Court ruling of Friday, March 3, 2023, which says that N200, 500, and N1000 notes should remain legal tender until December 31, 2023.
Feelers from the public indicate that PoS operators began to reduce their charges on cash withdrawals by about 90 per cent as banks make more cash available to their customers.
Source: Getty Images
Banks make more cash available
The apex court ruling triggered the fall as more bank customers could access cash across the counter and at ATMs.
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Banks customers say despite queues at the banks, and they could still get cash as the banks loaded more money in their ATMs.
Also, some PoS operators said they had seen a decline in patronage after the 2023 presidential election as the acute cash shortage eased.
PoS operators reduce charges
Some PoS agents in Lagos say they had been accepting the old naira notes as deposits since they ceased being legal tender and now have enough cash for their business.
“I now charge N300 for N10,000. Before the Supreme Court judgment, the charge was N2,000 for N10,000 because getting the new and old N200 notes was complex, and I paid heavily to get them, a PoS operator said.
The operators said the Supreme Court ruling would rejuvenate their business as more cash becomes available as most operators have shut down due to cash scarcity.
Some agents charge N300 and N500 for N1000 deposits because some traders who had the old notes now bring them for deposit.
CBN awaits legal advice
Meanwhile, a Vanguard report says the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is awaiting legal advice regarding the Supreme Court ruling on the naira redesign policy.
According to the newspaper, a top official of the apex bank said CBN would reveal its position soon but waiting for legal counsel, apparently from the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
CBN has stated that it has nothing yet to say about the apex court ruling, leading to speculations that it might not obey the Supreme Court ruling to allow the banknotes to circulate until December 31 this year.
Atedo Peterside, ex-Stanbic IBTC boss, says the naira redesign became currency seizure
Legit.ng reported earlier that the founder of Stanbic IBTC and Anap Foundation, Atedo Peterside, said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) confiscated naira in the guise of naira redesign.
TheCable reports that the ex-Stanbic IBTC boss’ comment came hours after the Supreme Court ruled that old N200, N500, and N1000 notes should remain legal tender until December 31, 2023.
CBN introduced the naira redesign policy in October 2022 and gave January 31 as the deadline for Nigerians to return to old naira notes in their possession.
Source: Legit.ng
