The Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria, Lagos Chapter, has announced a new price regime for Point of Sales (PoS) transactions – a fresh move to eradicate price discrepancies in the industry.

The association’s Public Relations Officer, Lagos Chapter, Stephen Adeoye, revealed the new price list during an interview with ChannelsTV on Friday. Under the new price regime, Adeoye said customers will pay N500 or less (depending on location) for N10,000 cash withdrawals.

“Let me tell you the price list, N1000–N2,400 will be N100 for withdrawal. N3500 to N4000 will be N200; N4,100 to N6,400 will be N300; N6,500 to N7,900 will be N400; N8500 to N10,900 will be N500; N11,000 to N14,000 will be N600; N14,500 to N17,900 will be N700; N18,000 to N2000 will N800 for withdrawal.

“Like we said, depending on your location, you can also step it down for people depending on the circumstances. But it should not go more than this,” he said.

He further explained that for other transactions like deposits and transfers, agents can now charge N100 for N1,000 to N4,900; N200 for N5000 to N10,900; N300 for N11,000 to N20,900; N400 got N21,000 to N30,900; N500 for N31,000 to N40,000; and N600 for N41,100 to N50,000.

Recently, the chairman of the Lagos chapter of the association, David Abiodun, released the new price list to excos at a symposium, according to Adeoye.

“Although, we agreed that depending on one’s area, they can lower the charges. But it should not exceed these new prices. This is why we expect everyone to paste it in their locations so that customers can see it,” he said, explaining that the purpose of the list was to curb the activities of agents that were still overcharging their customers.

Regarding the implementation of the price list, the association’s PRO mentioned that they plan to utilize their connections with the police and a specialized task force operating in their area. This collaborative effort is aimed at ensuring compliance with the set prices and maintaining control over the situation.

“To enforce this new price list is easy because we have a good relationship with the Lagos State Command, Police Force, and all the DPOs in the area. Very soon a task force will be set up in each zone so that they will work along with it,” he said.

“Today, someone can get a PoS and start working, but we would soon get to everyone. Registered members have a number and certificate, and we have a good collaboration with the CBN both in Lagos and in Abuja. AMMBAN is part of meetings around financial inclusion.

“So, enforcing this will be easy for us. We have zones in almost all the local governments. So, our task force in each zone will locate those who are there. We also have our website, and everyone has to register.”

During the cash crunch, the charges of PoS operators became a national concern that the central bank threatened to withdraw the license of any operator caught inflating charges. Unfortunately, the challenge did not go away, prompting the decision of the association to announce the price list.

A lot of businesses, particularly in the informal sector, rely on PoS operators to carry out financial transactions.

My social media channels are classrooms. And most times, I write things which deviate from the “typical” consensus, partly because of my experiences and multifaceted training. I hold degrees in technology, banking, finance, and engineering, with experiences that cut across banking, oil & gas, semiconductors, finance and education.

What if I tell you that fuel subsidies are not Nigeria’s main problem? What if I tell you that what you see as a “fuel subsidies” problem is actually inefficiency in government? When you do not know how much petrol you use, is that a fuel subsidy problem? When you do not have the ability to control your borders, feeding smugglers, is that a fuel subsidy problem? When you pay for “imported” fuel which never arrived, paying fake invoices, is that a fuel subsidy problem?

Simply, when you fail on those and many, you need an excuse and that excuse is to kill what benefits economies. Good People, there is no major country which does not subsidize fuel. But while they subsidize fuel, they use that cheap energy to drive PRODUCTION because energy is a very important component of the manufacturing process. China leads the world. The United States follows. Japan is 5th. With energy subsidies, they have a manufacturing base, and when they tax the outputs from those industries, they recover their money!

Nigeria’s fuel subsidy problem is that it was designed to feed corruption (you can photoshop invoices and the government will keep paying you because you have one special connection in Abuja). In my book, Nanotechnology and Microelectronics, which received a Book of the Year award from IGI Global, and upon which I received an invitation from Harvard Business Review, I explained how nations drive technology growth, looking at 2,000 years of data.

The US postal service has not made a single profit in the last 20 years. That is a massive subsidy to improve the supply chain, across America, by making sure commerce works. But they’re smart: the money used to subsidize post office is recovered when profits of companies which depend on the postal system are taxed. Provided there is no corruption, the government has no need to turn the post office into a direct profit-making machine. Recently, the government tried to clean the books, and even after, the postal service still recorded red! That subsidy is a platform strategy as we do in startups.

Postal Service Net Income/Loss By Year

• 2021 – $9.7 billion loss (projected)
• 2020 – $9.2 billion loss
• 2019 – $8.8 billion loss
• 2018 – $3.9 billion loss
• 2017 – $2.7 billion loss
• 2016 – $5.6 billion loss
• 2015 – $5.1 billion loss
• 2014 – $5.5 billion loss
• 2013 – $5 billion loss
• 2012 – $15.9 billion loss
• 2011 – $5.1 billion loss
• 2010 – $8.5 billion loss
• 2009 – $3.8 billion loss
• 2008 – $2.8 billion loss
• 2007 – $5.1 billion loss
• 2006 – $900 million surplus
• 2005 – $1.4 billion surplus
• 2004 – $3.1 billion surplus
• 2003 – $3.9 billion surplus
• 2002 – $676 million loss
• 2001 – $1.7 billion loss

Fellow Nigerians, we need better journalism because for decades our citizens are not well informed. Nigeria needs fuel subsidies to build a competitive production economy. But since we cannot reduce corruption, the subsidies have become a victim; that is unfortunate. As that happens, according to Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), our manufacturers in Nigeria  spent around N144 billion on alternative sources of energy (yes, generators) last year! We can do better.

President Biden last year signed into law the 2022 Postal Service Reform Act, which is expected to save a combined $107 billion for USPS by eliminating existing debt and taking future liabilities off of its books. Setting aside that savings, the Postal Service saw a net loss of nearly $500 million in fiscal 2022.

Nigeria needs fuel subsidies to build a competitive production economy. Fuel subsidy is not the main problem; corruption is. Deal with corruption and you will get the “productive” dividend of subsidizing energy. Even the debt servicing will become better. Yes,  the borrowing we see in financing energy subsidies  is not because of fuel subsidies; it is simply that fuel subsidies were not put into a production system because the benefits were muted by corruption. In other words, when you borrow and waste the  money on financing corruption, there is no way the system will work. But if you have borrowed, and used the funds to subsidize energy, you will likely improve your balance of payment and tax base, and that will help to pay the debts easily.

Comment on Feed: Thanks Prof. Whilst I agree with inefficiencies in our governance, the data above will be more balanced if the costs of energy in these countries are provided.

My Response: The cost of energy in the countries will not change anything in the overriding theme. You have a decent sample to make a decision, from energy producing countries like Saudi Arabia to non-native producers like Japan, and those in-between like India.  More so, using the cost without adjusting for purchasing power parity (ppp) makes no sense.  My point is that the absolute cost of energy in the US and what it costs in Nigeria will not matter; you focus on the PPP and if you do, you will see that the US would have subsidized even if its energy cost is at the Nigerian level.

You have said it all. Those justifying subsidy removal are just ignorant or following bandwagon. First, it isn’t feasible considering the purchasing power of most citizens, secondly, subsidy itself is not the problem, but subsidy scam. Government should address the REAL problem!

— Arsenal Babe (@arsenalbabe_) June 30, 2023

Apple has hit that milestone again – market cap of $3 trillion. Indeed, an unbelievable value creation there: Apple’s market value passed the $3 trillion mark again on Friday — a milestone no other company has ever reached.”

The tech giant previously grazed the milestone during intraday trading in January 2022 but closed shy of the mark. Apple shares have risen roughly 47% so far this year — adding about $940 billion in value. The tech sector has seen a flurry of renewed optimism around the potential of artificial intelligence, with the Nasdaq up about 30% and on track for its best first half of a year since the 1980s. Apple has also benefited from a rebound in its iPhone business.

Apple is viewed by investors as a relatively safe stock in a time of global economic uncertainty, boosting its share price.

As we discuss that, Google plans freeze news in Canada over regulations. It joins Meta on this news exit in Canada.

Google says news links will stop appearing on its search engine in Canada by the end of the year, when Bill C-18 takes effect. Also known as the Online News Act, the bill forces the likes of Google and Meta to pay news outlets for their content. News links will also be removed from Google News and Google Discover. The federal government says the bill is aimed at helping level the playing field between local news publications and foreign tech giants, but Google calls it “unworkable.” Google is also pulling the plug on Google News Showcase, which licenses news from local publishers. The move follows a similar step away from news by Meta last week.