There is an increasing outrage among residents of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, and its neighboring towns over the sudden introduction of a 10% charge on every transaction by Point of Sales (POS) operators.

Reports are that residents of the ancient city have been enduring a scarcity of cash in the last few weeks following the cash swap Policy introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN. A few weeks ago, the CBN introduced the newly redesigned N200, N500, and N1000 denominations across the country and also directed all commercial banks to load up their Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) with the newly redesigned notes.

The bank, through its Governor, Godwin Emefiele, had also requested that all Nigerians deposit their old notes to the banks, stating that all banks are to accept the old Naira notes without any charge to the depositors and load ATMs with the redesigned banknotes. The deadline for the exchange of old banknotes for the newly redesigned ones was also extended by the apex bank from 31st January to 10th February.

Events unfolding however reveals that POS operators in the ancient city and its environs have increased their charges to ten percent on each transaction. This arbitrary increase has been linked to the shortage of both old and new Naira notes in the last few days, caused by the inability of some of the ATMs to dispense as well as the inability to make withdrawals in the banking halls.

As a result, POS operators who usually charge the sum of N200 for a withdrawal of N10,000 and N100 for a N5,000 withdrawal now charge as much as N1,000 and N500 respectively for the same amounts, leading to growing outrage among residents of the ancient city as they are not comfortable with the development.

When approached however, a POS operator who identified himself as Gbenga disclosed that it became necessary for them to increase transaction charges due to the scarcity of cash. He said that the POS operators also spend money to get cash from the banks.