THE Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has warned Point of Sale (POS) Operators and the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria (AMMBAN) against setting prices for their services.
The FCCPC issued the warning in response to plans by the money agents and POS operators to fix prices.
The FCCPC noted that it is open to individual POS operators raising their fees as they seem fit in order to generate profit from their operations.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Commission, Babatunde Irukera, explained that the regulatory body is only trying to discourage the associations “from engaging in coordinated or concerted efforts (otherwise known as price-fixing or cartel) and or acting in furtherance of any such coordinated or concerted efforts to uniformly determine, announce or implement price changes [s] of services they render”
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In a statement released on Monday, July 24, and signed by Irukera, the Commission said it had observed the insistence of AMMBAN on a membership-wide implementation of illegal conduct.
“The Commission is concerned about such statements, and even more so, such conduct. The impunity associated with defiance or persisting in the course of action prohibited by law and clearly forbidden by regulators usually constitutes aggravating factors in determining penalties for illegal conduct where applicable.
“Considering that membership of AMMBAN probably consists mainly of small businesses and creates employment for young and mostly vulnerable citizens, the Commission adopted advocacy and business education as the tool to promote and enforce obedience to the law,” the statement said.
Irukera said the FCCPC is not weak but has opted for advocacy to ensure adherence to the law because the PoS business is dominated by young Nigerians who are creating jobs for themselves.
“This is a prudential, not weak or helpless approach to ensuring compliance, and it underscores the Commission’s proportionality approach to its consequence management system; and interpretation of the law,” he added.
The Commission stated clearly that it has not sought to limit the prerogative of POS service providers to determine and set prices for services in a manner of their choosing subject to Section 127 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018 (FCCPA), which prohibits manifestly unjust or exploitative prices.
It added that contrary to that, the Commission respects and encourages a pricing methodology that is the product of market forces in a free, competitive, undistorted market.
The Commission said it welcomes each POS operator’s inherent powers and discretion to set prices based on their internal mechanisms and relevant markets, providing consumers with choices and the best possible prices while ensuring profitability.
The Commission added that FCCPA provides the Commission with statutory tools to ensure compliance and penalise law violations and warned that some of these penalties are stiff.
Accordingly, the Commission, in escalating this in accordance with the FCCPA and ancillary instruments, has entered an Order & Notice (ONO) of the Commission to AMMBAN, persons identified as executives, members and non-member POS operators to Cease and Desist from conduct that constitutes an infringement of the law.
Consequently, the ONC was issued by the Commission and served on AMMBAN.
Irukera, therefore, advised PoS operators to avoid violating an order of the Commission to avoid the consequences that come with it.
“The Commission advises PoS operators that violation of an order of the Commission attracts additional consequences apart from the underlying illegal conduct that is the subject of the order, such as up to N10,000,000 for corporate entities; and N1,000,000 and or a prison sentence of up to three months for individuals,” he said.
In June, the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria (AMMBAN) accused the FCCPC of selectively prosecuting individuals.
This was disclosed in an interview with DAILY POST by Elegbede Segun, the national publicity secretary of AMMBAN.
The Lagos Chapter of the association had earlier set June 30 to start a new increased price list for PoS costs per transaction.
Elegbade said that FCCPC treats PoS operators unfairly.
He claimed that while FCCPC was silent, bread makers and Multi-Choice (DSTV/GoTV) hiked prices several times.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance