Nigerian PoS Terminals to Get Fraud-Flagging Feature by The End of Q1 2024
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), through the Nigerian Electronic Fraud Forum (NEFF), has announced a strategic collaboration with the Association of Mobile Money and Banking Agents of Nigeria (AMMBAN), to create a new feature on PoS terminals that will help to detect fraudulent transactions at agents locations.
In case of any fraudulent suspicion, this feature will mandate specific KYC details before proceeding with the transactions. This initiative is part of the CBN’s move to curb the fraud-related issues that PoS users face, to strengthen the security around transactions initiated through PoS terminals.
The new collaboration will also seek to eliminate the unauthorised utilisation of mobile money wallets, bank accounts or credit card. Notably, the initiative which is nearing completion, is driven by the NeFF and the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System. The feature once it is launched, will be noticeable on PoS terminals used by agents spread across the country, with an expected launch in the first quarter of 2024.
The CBN strengthening the security on PoS terminals is timely due to the incessant PoS fraud-related transactions that have continued to surge.
Regarded as one of the positive innovative interventions in the financial sector, the Point of Sales system has undoubtedly made banking easy and promoted financial inclusion, especially in rural areas. However, on the flip side, it has turned into a tool through which fraudsters swindle unsuspecting Nigerians.
Nigerian banks have reportedly lost N472 million to POS and mobile fraud in the first quarter of 2023. As the new feature is expected to launch before the end of Q1 2024, several PoS agents have already begun implementing the Central Bank BVN-NIN policy, under which new customers must provide either a bank verification number or a National Identification number when opening an account.
