ALL appears not to be well for Lagosians, especially those staying in the Alimosho LGA, as Point of Sale (PoS) merchants have hiked their transaction commission, following what appears to be a shortage of cash in circulation.
Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria had ordered that Nigerians deposit their old naira notes, as according to them, the January 31, 2023, deadline for the phasing off of old notes would not be moved. This rush subsequently forced people to deposit all cash, expecting to receive the new notes which were only rationed, as according to them, the banks said they did not have enough supply of the new notes as of Saturday, January 28, 2023.
However, on Sunday, January 29, 2023, came the news that the deadline has been extended by 2 weeks till February 10, 2023.
Alimoshotoday's correspondent who went around banks in Alimosho reports seeing long queues of people who are at the banks as early as 07:30 am, waiting to be able to withdraw their cash back, following an increase in charge by PoS merchants.
For a cash withdrawal of #5,000 that normally attracts a #100 commission, some PoS merchants in Alimosho now charge between #250 and #300, while also increasing the normal commission of #200 on a #10,000 withdrawal to between #550 and #600.
A PoS merchant in Egbeda, who decried the situation, said it was due to the scarcity of currency, even at the banks. Despite this surge in price, people still queued at her stall to make transactions as they say they cannot put up with the crowd at the banks.
