A cross section of artisans in Awka, Anambra capital, have called on state and the Federal Governments to check the current practice whereby Point of Service (POS) operators mop up cash from traders.
They maintained that the practice was making it difficult for commercial banks to get more money they used to service their customers.
Mrs Ngozi Ugokwe, a hair salon owner in Awka, who spoke on the factors causing the cash crunch, bared her minds in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Awka.
Ugokwe, said what POS operators did was to mop up cash from traders after the close of daily sales.
“Some of them used to come to ask for the money I realized at the end of the day for them to buy at the rate of N10, 000 for N11, 000.
“But after getting the money on this condition, they would now resale at N14, 000, thereby making N3, 000 on every N10, 000”, he said.
A POS operator, Miss Derechukwu Arinze, who confirmed the position of Ugokwe, said she usually go to butchers to get monies she trade with.
“See my clothes, I am just returning from shop now and you can see blood stains on my clothes, it was where we were struggling to get money from our butcher customer.
“That is where I now get cash to do my business because when you go to the bank, the much they give you is N5, 000 which can barely serve one for minutes,” he said.
Nduka Umeh, a tailoring materials dealer at Eke Awka, appealed to the government to intensify awareness campaigns to enable the masses understand the importance of the cashless policy.
“Since the introduction of this cashless policy, people no longer have too much cash in their houses and that has reduced the rate of kidnapping significantly,” he said.
He said if government could enlighten Nigerians to understand the advantages of the policy and check the excesses of the POS operators, banks would be getting monies to service their customers.
Some of the POS operators who spoke to NAN confirmed the reports saying that it was the only way to get money for their businesses.
One of them simply called Jide, said that the operators found it difficult to raise money to do the business hence they sought other means through filling stations and traders.
According to him, the maximum you can get from the banks is N20,000 and it can only serve three customers. So we have to look elsewhere for money.
