Abdul’s fingers rapped on the display, his eyes barely lifting to fulfill mine. Within the 10 minutes I stood by his picket desk listening to his almost-decade-long journey as a PoS agent, 4 individuals had walked up, handing him money or their debit playing cards, making transfers in his small stall at  Ojodu Berger. “Sluggish morning,” he broke off. He had already processed over ₦100,000 in transactions. 

In lots of corners of cities and cities throughout Nigeria, plastic chairs, battered umbrellas, and picket stalls have change into the unofficial signage of a PoS stand. The rising presence of such stalls represents Nigeria’s shifting monetary panorama, characterised by the expansion of digital funds and unstable banking methods. From the money crunch of early 2023 to power ATM failures, PoS brokers swooped in and reshaped how Nigerians entry monetary companies equivalent to deposits, invoice funds, transfers, and withdrawals. In 2024, PoS terminals transacted a complete of ₦18 trillion, a 69% surge in contrast with 2023’s ₦10.7 trillion.

PoS brokers generate profits by charging a charge on every transaction, together with withdrawals, transfers, deposits, and a few invoice funds. These charges are hardly ever fastened. In lots of elements of Lagos, clients pay between ₦100–₦150 to withdraw ₦5,000; ₦250 for ₦10,000; and ₦400–₦500 for ₦20,000. The upper the amount of cash, the steeper the transaction cost. These prices are a mix of the agent’s revenue margin, the fintech platform commissions, and the ₦50 Digital Cash Switch Levy on transfers above ₦10,000. 

How a lot do they earn?

Many elements decide how a lot PoS brokers rake in on the finish of the month. For a enterprise that has change into a function in practically each neighborhood, location issues quite a bit. Brokers working in areas with excessive foot visitors earn greater than these tucked away in quiet corners. Ore*, who operates from a hidden avenue off Surulere, and is barely seen to residents and acquainted faces, processes a median of 10 to twenty transactions every day. Nevertheless, only a brief stroll towards a busier intersection, Ali sees between 50 and 60 transactions a day. 

The fintech platform an agent makes use of additionally shapes how a lot they preserve per transaction. Brokers utilizing PalmPay and Moniepoint declare that the cost collected on each ₦1000 ranges between ₦5–₦10. However, Ibukun Abolarinwa, an agent who has examined numerous platforms, claims there are variations in how a lot is deducted on the backend. After conducting his comparative research, he noticed that “Moniepoint removes extra prices than PalmPay.” Then there’s Opay, which, as Abdul describes, runs a type of reward system based mostly on transaction quantity. The extra transactions you course of utilizing the Opay PoS, the much less you’re charged over time.

Although there are not any official information of every day or month-to-month earnings, conversations with a handful of operators paint a revealing image. With their prices ranging from ₦100—and climbing based mostly on the amount of cash—and every day transaction volumes ranging between 20-70, every day earnings sometimes falls between ₦3,000 and ₦12,000. This implies month-to-month earnings may vary from ₦90,000 to ₦360,000.

It appears to be like like straightforward cash from the skin, however behind each ₦100+ cost is an inventory of operating prices that add up shortly.

What they spend to earn

Knowledge is the largest expense, with brokers spending as much as ₦30,000 per thirty days. Pleasure, in her picket kiosk in Surulere, claims she spends ₦10,000 weekly to maintain her Moniepoint terminal operating. Ibukun has a PoS machine from Wema Financial institution that wants no knowledge connection. Nevertheless, he claims that he dangers delayed transactions and shedding his clients’ curiosity if he makes use of that terminal. “If I withdraw ₦500,000 from it now, it’s after one hour that the cash will drop.”

There’s additionally the bodily value of transportation that brokers spend in sourcing money. With banks putting weekly limits on particular person accounts, Ibukun rotates via his eight financial institution accounts at completely different branches each week—spending as much as ₦25,000 month-to-month on transport alone. Some brokers nonetheless declare to purchase money in periods the place money stream dries up.

Abul, who operates out of a small store, not the same old umbrella stalls, pays ₦300,000 yearly for lease and spends ₦30,000 month-to-month to maintain the lights on. And since he’s a household man, he typically pays a serving to hand to observe over his enterprise whereas he’s away. After overlaying these bills and attending to family wants, he says he’s left with simply ₦15,000 to ₦20,000 on the finish of the month.

Tales of losses and dangers

The job of working a PoS terminal comes with extra than simply overhead. It comes with threat.

Abdul’s account of his years within the enterprise took a darkish flip when he recounted being attacked at knife-point one evening. It taught him what many PoS brokers already know: that operating this enterprise requires vigilance. He defined that whereas banks have safety, PoS brokers have to carry their very own. Different brokers echoed this. Ibukun says he hides his money in several compartments of his purse and splits it into corners of his residence, proper in entrance of which his PoS stand sits.

Past bodily safety, POS brokers are additionally susceptible to fraudulent transfers, particularly from new clients. A number of brokers recounted situations they’ve heard of the place clients present faux debit alerts or use community delays to confuse brokers into pondering cash has dropped when it hasn’t.

Typically, the transaction reveals “authorised” on the terminal, however the cash by no means arrives. Different occasions, it displays briefly after which reverses again to the client’s account with out the agent understanding. In these instances, until the agent notices shortly, they lose each the cash and the client. 

“It is rather strict enterprise; for those who don’t deal with it with care, you’ll expertise quite a lot of losses,” Abdul retorted. 

Nonetheless, the rise of PoS brokers says extra about Nigeria’s financial system than it does in regards to the enterprise itself. In a rustic the place formal jobs are few and banks are retreating, a technology of younger Nigerians has constructed its financial system, ₦100 at a time. “It’s nonetheless higher than not doing something in any respect,” Abdul says.

Sitting below an umbrella from daybreak to nightfall might not be the dream, however it’s a lifeline for the brokers and the individuals they serve. As of 2023, money remained the predominant fee methodology at PoS terminals throughout Nigeria, holding a market share of over 50%. Whereas the adoption of digital fee options has accelerated, money continues to be central in bodily transactions. So long as money stays king and digital funds stay unstable, the agent below the umbrella would possibly simply be probably the most dependable a part of Nigeria’s monetary system.

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