Women entrepreneurs fault stamp duty charges on POS transactions, seek review

Say it’s against financial inclusion, marginalises rural females

THE Women’s Research and Documentation Centre (WORDOC), Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan and some women entrepreneurs have faulted government’s decision to withdraw stamp duty charges on transactions from the banking system. At a conference on Women Entrepreneurs and CBN ‘s N50 POS Charges, held at the University of Ibadan yesterday, Coordinator of WORDOC, Dr. Sharon Adetutu Omotoso, Mrs. Oyenike

Adeleke of Ibadan Entrepreneurs Network and Mrs. Collins Deborah Oluyemisi, Oyo State Chairperson of International Federation of Women Lawyers, among others, said the charge was counter productive to Federal Government’s cashless policy.

Omotoso said, “In September 2019, the CBN and the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) began a remittance process for collection of Point of Sale (POS) stamp duty charges. In the CBN circular issued on September 17, 2019, a statutory fee of N50 was to be added to every transaction exceeding N1000.

“With the order fully operational, payment channel agents charge this stamp duty on every individual transaction. In a survey of retail outlets, it was reported that POS machines in certain filling stations now have an upgrade that automatically charges N50 stamp duty, sometimes unknown the customers.

“With this development, Nigerians are actively decrying this stamp duty charge and many are shunning POS transactions, choosing instead to withdraw bulk money from ATM posts.

“As people are inclined to carry cash now in defiance of the stamp duty, the prior successful cashless policy in Nigeria is gradually degenerating. This is added to the fact that arguably half of Nigeria’s population is unbanked.”