According to Kevin Olumese, senior marketing manager at PalmPay Nigeria, many banked customers are now comfortable using apps, and they frequently visit PalmPay agents to withdraw money after funding their PalmPay accounts through bank transfers. This eliminates the need for ATM cards and PoS devices for withdrawals, making the process faster and more convenient within the PalmPay ecosystem, with a 100 percent success rate and no additional charges.

Moniepoint has also established itself in the agent network model and has successfully categorized agents into different groups. The company has experienced growth in the number of agents and does not require field staff as agents are directly employing others to carry out tasks.

An agent named Augustina Alabere stated that the increase in terminal fees doesn't affect her costs as much as the rise in the price of PoS paper. The cost of a roll of PoS paper, which used to contain 10 units, has increased from N1,200 to N2,000. Alabere also highlighted the high cost of renting a shop as a significant pressure point on her revenue. With inflation, shop owners have increased rents, forcing PoS operators to allocate a portion of their profits to cover the higher rates.

Operators are likely trying to recover some of their substantial investments in the business. For example, OPay offered free transactions since 2019 but has now imposed a fee starting from the fourth transaction. PalmPay has also followed suit, though it attempted to offset the fee by offering users a 20 percent interest rate on annual savings.

Experts suggest that the recent increase in PoS fees reflects agents' discontent with the rising costs. Their dissatisfaction is not solely directed at OPay, PalmPay, or Moniepoint, as these platforms have provided them with an income source. Instead, the agents are expressing their frustration with the government, which they feel has done little to address the significant inflationary pressures.