Something is brewing in Nigeria’s payments industry, and it could affect millions of everyday Nigerians who depend on POS agents to access cash and complete basic transactions. The Association of Point of Sale Service Providers has issued a stark warning: it may suspend the processing of Verve card transactions across the country unless regulators step in to address what it describes as anti-competitive and unlawful practices by Verve International and its parent company, Interswitch.
According to a report by Techpoint Africa, the association filed a formal petition to both the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), warning that a shutdown of Verve transactions could be its next move if the issue remains unresolved. The core of the dispute is the allegation that Verve and Interswitch are using their dominant position in Nigeria’s payments ecosystem to lock out competitors and force exclusive arrangements on operators practices the association says violate existing CBN regulations as well as the FCCPC Act.
This is not just a corporate squabble between industry players. Verve was the most popular card in Nigeria in 2023, accounting for 35% and 65% of cards used for POS and e-commerce transactions respectively, which means any disruption to Verve card processing would ripple almost instantly across the country’s financial system. Interswitch supports over 8,000 billers via its Quickteller platform, enables more than 41,000 Quickteller Paypoint agents, and facilitates daily transactions for over 190,000 active businesses, while its Verve card network has surpassed 70 million activated cards. When you consider those numbers, the stakes of this standoff become very clear.
The tension is happening at an already difficult time for Nigeria’s POS industry. Operators are grappling with the CBN’s controversial single-principal rule, mandatory CAC registration, geo-fencing requirements, transaction limits, and ongoing disputes around airtime lending services. Many operators say these combined pressures are squeezing businesses that have become an indispensable part of the country’s financial fabric. POS terminals processed more than ₦10 trillion in the first quarter of 2025 alone, while an estimated two million agents operate across the country. For many Nigerians particularly those in rural and underserved communities ,these agents have effectively replaced bank branches and ATMs as the primary gateway to financial services.
Adding another layer to an already complex situation, on May 29, 2026, the CBN extended the deadline for enforcing its mandatory POS terminal geo-fencing framework to August 1, giving payment service providers more time to comply with the new requirements. The regulator also eased compliance by increasing the allowable geo-fence radius for POS terminals from 10 metres to 70 metres. While that extension brings temporary relief, it does little to resolve the deeper tensions now playing out between POS operators and Nigeria’s most dominant payments infrastructure player.
At its core, the dispute reflects a broader debate about competition and control within Nigeria’s fast-growing payments sector. Whether regulators move quickly to address the Verve-Interswitch allegations could determine if this remains a corporate dispute or escalates into another nationwide payments crisis. For the millions of Nigerians who line up at POS terminals every day just to withdraw cash or pay a bill, the answer to that question matters enormously. Regulators now face real pressure to act , and act fast.
