Scarcity of cash has crippled Point of Sales (PoS) centres in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) while the few operators with cash now charge between N200 and N300 per N1,000.

Around Kuje Area Council in the FCT on Thursday, most POS centres were closed as they have no cash to dispense to customers.

However, those operating have defended the hike in charges, saying they got the money from other sources, not their banks.

Sarah Musa, a PoS operator, said the hardship was becoming unbearable for both operators and customers.

She blamed the hike in charges on the difficulties in accessing cash, adding that most of the cash with PoS operators was not directly from banks.

According to her, PoS centres still operating are owned by bank officials who get the money directly from their banks without going through the ATM.

“As you can see, most PoS centres are out of business because of lack of cash and that is why you see us sitting idle.

“The few centres operating belong to bank officials who are now taking advantage of the scarcity to hike their charges,” she said.

She called on relevant authorities to stop bank officials from owning PoS centres.

Daniel Okoh, another PoS operator, lamented the difficulties they go through to access cash from banks.

“I have been coming to queue in this bank for the past three days and have not gotten any cash, because the ATM has not been dispensing.

“I have been here since 7:00 a.m. today and I am not sure I will get cash because of the crowd.

“My appeal is for government to urgently address this problem in the interest of Nigerians,” he said.

Mariam Audu, another POS operator who charges N250 per N1,000, said she got her cash from a third party.

Mrs Audu said she resorted to a third party option after several efforts to get money from her bank failed.

(NAN)