As a result of recent policy by Federal Government charging fifty naira (N50) on every Point of Sales (POS) transaction, Nigerian Women under the agies of Women Research and Documentation Center (WORDOC), has kicked against the policy, hence calling on the Federal Government as a matter of urgency to review the remittance process for the collection.
The WORDOC, which is a association under the Institute of African Studies of the University of Ibadan expressed its displeasure on the policy made on Tuesday in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital during a press briefing to show their dissatisfaction over the Central Bank of Nigeria N50 PoS charges.
While addressing the journalists, the coordinator of WORDOC, Dr. Sharon Adetutu said women are not happy with the policy because it has been causing a lot of havoc to their business and finance, maintaining that the N50 policy cannot work because any policy that will not profit women will die untimely.
She noted that the Federal Government should look into the policy because its implications to women in Nigeria is enormous.
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It could be recalled that in September 2019, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) began a remittance process for collection of Point of Sales (POS) stamp duty charges, and in CBN circular issued on 17th September, 2019, a statutory fee of N50 was to be added to every transaction over a thousand of naira
According to her, Nigerians are not comfortable with this stamp duty charge and are not ready to make transactions via Point of Sale, instead preferred to withdraw bulk money from ATM post.
According to her, “With the order fully operational, payment channel agents charges this stamp duty on every individual transactions, and people are declined in caring cash now in defiance to the stamp duty, the success of cashless policy in Nigeria is gradually regenerating because half of Nigerians population is unbanked.
“A lot of things is going against women, all we are saying is that POS charges are triggering a move from grocery stores and supermarkets to the local markets.
Adetutu pointed out that Nigeria is a low income country with one of the highest entrepreneurship rate in the world, adding that it also has one of the highest female entrepreneurship rate in the continent in terms of agencies and active business engagements.
She reiterated further that as low end women entrepreneurs are beginning to adjust to the introduced cashless policy, POS terminals and card transactions, the N50 stamp duty charges poses a repression of the informal sector.
“With the present trend of POS stamp duty in charges, the cashless policy is rendered null and void as Nigerians are going back to because it makes no economic sense to pay stamp duty charges on every purchase above a thousand naira when one can avoid that with cash withdrawal at the ATM post.
“Women business and retail outlet are dumping the PoS because customers have declined using it, the popular mobile paying business within neighborhoods operated mostly by women is also crumbling as people slide back into unemployment and thus is a reversal of fortunes for local market women and the upcoming female entrepreneurs.
“There must be a level playing ground so as to relate to ourselves, Federal Government should know that welfare and security of Nigerian is a must.
WORDOC however make recommendation that the government should review the N50 stamp duty and it should take effect only on transactions from N50, 000, adding that the Federal Government should withdraw the instructions with immediate effect pending when the issue will be resolved, and in the spirit of democracy, there should be accountability and transparency on the hitherto deducted M50 stamp duty which would have accrued to millions since the policy has took effect.
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