Unlicensed crypto deals, POS fraud pushing Nigeria into financial danger zone — Reps

By Christiana Ekpa

The Chairman of the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on the Economic, Regulatory and Security Implications of Cryptocurrency Adoption and POS Operations in Nigeria, Hon Olufemi Bamisile, on Monday expressed deep concerns over the increasing fraud linked to Point-of-Sale (POS) operations and the infiltration of unlicensed crypto-related activities in the sector.
Speaking during the Committee’s resumed investigative session with fintech leaders, POS operators, and representatives of regulatory and security agencies, Bamisile said recent engagements with stakeholders had exposed deep gaps within the country’s fast-growing digital finance ecosystem.
According to him, the Committee has received multiple reports of unprofiled agents, cloned terminals, anonymous transactions and weak Know-Your-Customer (KYC) practices, which he warned are putting Nigerians at serious risk of financial loss, cybercrime and security breaches.
“We are concerned about the growing rise in fraud associated with POS operations,” Bamisile said. “Unprofiled agents, cloned terminals, and weak KYC practices continue to expose citizens to preventable dangers.”
The lawmaker also raised what he described as a disturbing trend of POS operators venturing into digital-asset and cryptocurrency services without regulatory approval, stressing that such activities pose major threats to consumer protection and national security.
“There are allegations and credible information that some POS operators now engage in crypto-related services for which they are not licensed. This raises serious red flags around anti–money laundering, terrorism financing, data integrity and the misuse of instruments originally designed for basic payment services,” he said.