Posted by The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) asserts that their inquiry into the service charge price rise by Point of Sale (PoS) providers is not coordinated or collaborative.
This was said by Mr. Babatunde Irukera, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, in an Abuja, Nigeria, interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Irukera claimed that the commission’s surveillance and spot inspections of members of the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria (AMMBAN) led to that determination.
He claims that based on what we now know, this coordinated effort to proceed with an increase did not take place.
According to NAN, FCCPC has threatened to prosecute AMMBAN members for cooperating in price fixing in violation of the FCCPAct 2018.
The commission also issued an order and notice to AMMBAN directing it to stop engaging in unlawful behavior.
“I realize price hikes are not synchronized or uniform, which is why we insisted on it.
“We just met with the association, and since then, our personnel have started doing active surveillance and spot checks.
“What we have discovered is that this planned surge in activity did not take place.
The association’s national executive members also stated that they did not and would not engage in that behavior.
If this actually occurred, it will be interesting to find out, Irukera remarked.
Irukera claimed that the Banks and other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) only gave the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) the authority to supervise banks, safeguarding bank clients from excessive bank fees.
“Under BOFIA, CBN regulates banks to the statutory exclusion of FCCPC,” the man stated.