Telecom Downtime Puts Nigeria’s Growing POS Economy at Risk — Finance Experts
Telecommunications disruptions could threaten the growing agency banking ecosystem and the livelihoods of thousands of point-of-sale (POS) operators across Nigeria, financial planners have warned.
The issue was highlighted during an economic review session co-hosted on Sunday, September 20, 2026, by financial education advocate, Oluwatosin Olaseinde, and financial planner, Kalu Aja, who examined the growing dependence of everyday financial transactions on reliable telecommunications connectivity.
Aja, citing institutional transaction data, said Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) processed N80.9 trillion in 2025 through its payment arms, HabariPay and Squad, supported by a physical fleet of more than 200,000 POS terminals deployed across the country.
He stressed that the terminals represented more than payment infrastructure, arguing that they had become sources of livelihood for operators and their families.
“When you see a POS machine, that’s a person and a family with a job in Nigeria,” Aja said.
He added: “One in three people are feeding from the income that person gets from that one POS. 200,000 POS terminals deployed by just one organisation. That’s at minimum 200,000 jobs. That’s corporate enabling the creation of jobs, enabling consumption.”
According to the financial experts, the expansion of agency banking over the past decade has helped extend financial services beyond conventional bank branches, particularly in peri-urban and rural communities.
However, the model depends heavily on telecommunications networks to enable transactions in real time.
When network connectivity deteriorates, POS operators can be unable to complete transactions, confirm payments or receive timely transaction responses. This can leave operators’ working capital tied up in unconfirmed transactions while customers wait for reversals or payment confirmations.
Olaseinde, founder of wealth platform Ladda, linked the reliability of everyday digital transactions to the wider contribution of telecommunications to economic activity.
“The telecom sector contributed 9.19 percent of GDP in Q1 2026. Just about 10 percent,” she said.
Olaseinde said connectivity also supported fintech adoption and enabled businesses to reach customers and deliver financial services.
“We have a business with over 75,000 users because people can download our app using data to save and invest,” she said.
According to her, investment in telecommunications infrastructure goes beyond expanding network capacity, as it also creates the conditions for businesses to operate and expand.
“It’s not just them investing in capital expenditure, it’s actually creating economic capacity, productive capacity for the Nigerian economy,” she said.
Aja also pointed to the scale of investment by major telecommunications infrastructure providers, citing MTN Nigeria’s N1.62 trillion capital expenditure across its network infrastructure.
“In every local government area in Nigeria there is an MTN somewhere. You’ll either find a tower or you’re going to find someone selling recharge cards,” he further disclosed.
He warned that disruptions to the telecommunications ecosystem could have consequences for the informal employment and economic activity supported by digital services.
“What would happen if there was no corporate Nigeria? First, the jobs go. Then the tax revenues… gone. If that all goes away, it’s a massive hole nobody can fill,” Aja declared.
For POS operators working from kiosks, transport terminals, markets and street-side locations, the financial planners said reliable connectivity has therefore become an important operating requirement, determining whether transactions can be completed and daily working capital continues to circulate.
