Before you argue for or against POS agents, you might want to read Gbolahan’s* story first.
He talks about navigating assumptions about POS agents being opportunistic, wanting people to be more understanding and why he intends to stick with the business.
As told to Boluwatife
Image: Zikoko
I’ve been in the POS business for about three years now, and while carrying out online payment transactions for money wasn’t exactly my dream job, it pays my bills. At least I’m making money in an honest way, and I need Nigerians to respect that.
My POS business has saved my life in more ways than one. In addition to being my primary source of income, it has helped me develop a sense of self-worth and independence. My parents are poor people who have struggled all their lives and often rely on the generosity of others to survive, always looking for the next “helper” to bless them. So, subconsciously, I also grew up with that mentality.
After classes, my friends and I would hang around the supermarket opposite my secondary school to hail the customers who drove in to buy stuff, hoping they’d dash us money. I learned to size people up and guess how much they had so I could determine how well to greet them. When I wasn’t doing that, I was directing traffic at owambe parties so the drivers could find their way out and hopefully give me the random ₦100.
I actively participated in giveaways before they became a thing on Twitter. In my polytechnic, I attended several fellowships not because I was interested in God but because the executives often held airtime giveaways and sometimes shared food to encourage people to join the fellowship.
I was also the “urgent ₦2k” guy to my friends, often asking for one financial help or the other. I realised people had begun to know me for constantly begging when my classmates shared one of those anonymous message links on our department WhatsApp group so we’d shade each other for fun. One person said something like, “If a week goes by without Gbolahan asking for money, heaven can come down.” Everyone laughed, and I acted like it was funny, but it really pained me.
So, as soon as I finished my OND in 2021, I decided to look for whatever means possible to make my own money. I’m sure my mum expected me to return to school for my HND the following year, but it just wasn’t possible.
I’d barely managed to pay my OND school fees by begging family members and gathering whatever money I made from the owambe food server gigs I got during the weekends. I knew no one was going to sponsor me to school. It was better to hustle to make money rather than get a certificate I’d now struggle to get a job with after school.
That’s how I started my POS business. It took me only about ₦20k to apply for the machine and register, but my mum still had to borrow ₦150k from a microfinance bank for me. The extra cash was so I’d have something to deposit in my wallet and have some money at hand to give customers.
Business has been good. I make up to ₦10k on a very good day and no longer need to beg anyone to survive. I even repaid half of the amount my mum borrowed for me to start the business while she paid the balance. I can now afford to drop money for food at home and buy myself clothes.
I’m very proud of my work and always encourage people to start the business too. The only downside is that most people make it seem like we’re wicked opportunists who are using our fellow Nigerians to make money.
There’s nothing my ears didn’t hear during the cash scarcity last year. I was waking up as early as 4 a.m. to queue at bank ATMs to collect cash because, scarcity or not, I had to do my business. Even with that, I still had to buy cash from market women, fuel attendants and drivers because the ATM withdrawal limit was only ₦20k. There was a time during the scarcity that I bought ₦10k cash for ₦2k.
Of course, after going through all that to get cash, I had to increase my transaction charges to make a profit. But people just thought I was being wicked and choosing to take advantage of the situation. I remember getting the insult of my life from an old woman because I charged her ₦2k to withdraw ₦10k cash. Another one accused me of hoarding cash when I said I didn’t have any to give her.
The cash scarcity issue has gone, but people still treat POS agents somehow. A few months ago, I had some issues with my kiosk location, so I moved it to just in front of a bank in my area that’s known for always having issues with its ATM. When people come to the ATM and can’t get cash, they have to patronise me. A few people have complained about this while withdrawing cash from me, as if I’m the one who spoilt the ATM.
I also see people come online to talk as if POS agents are destroying banks. Some even say the authorities should ban us. Imagine. Instead of facing the government and making them explain why it’s more difficult to get cash now, we’re blaming people who are just trying to survive.
We’re simply filling a vacuum caused by the different policies the government and banks are implementing. I wish people would understand this and appreciate that POS agents are even making it easier for them to access their money. You can’t please everybody sha.
I don’t have any other business ideas for now, so I’ll stick to my POS. If I stop it, who will feed me? Nigerians should just leave me alone.
*Name has been changed for the sake of anonymity.
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