Across Nigeria, PoS agents sit under umbrellas on street corners, handing out cash and sending transfers for people far from a bank branch. Thousands of them have relied on platforms like Baxi to stay in business. Now one of those platforms is closing.
Pan-African payments company Onafriq is winding down Baxi, its agent banking business in Nigeria, about five years after it entered the market. The company shared the decision in a statement on October 16, first reported by Nairametrics.
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Baxi agents have been moved to another principal bank and have 30 days to transfer their funds to a bank of their choice.
Why Onafriq is closing Baxi
Onafriq, formerly MFS Africa, bought Capricorn Digital, the company behind Baxi, in a deal completed in 2022 after Central Bank of Nigeria approval. It kept investing in the agent network through 2023.
The company says conditions changed sharply in 2024. The naira's fall and high inflation pushed up running costs and hurt transaction volumes. At the same time, instant bank app transfers grew fast, which changed what customers go to agents for, and heavy competition squeezed margins.
Founder and CEO Dare Okoudjou put it plainly: "We entered Nigeria with conviction and commitment, but did not achieve the outcome we set out for." He called the closure "a difficult decision".
What happens to agents and staff
Onafriq says agents onboarded through Baxi have been moved to another principal bank. They have 30 days to transfer their money to their preferred bank, and Onafriq's teams will guide them through the process, according to reports by Technext and The Condia.
Employees whose roles are tied to the agent banking business are going through consultation and will get transition support. The company has not said how many agents or staff are affected.
Onafriq is not leaving Nigeria
This is not a full exit. Onafriq says it will keep operating in Nigeria as a payment solution service provider, running its cross-border payments network and card issuing services. Okoudjou said Nigeria remains central to the group's mission.
That matters because cross-border payments, such as money sent between African countries, are a growing business, while street level agent banking has become a fight over thin margins.
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A tough market for PoS businesses
Baxi's exit shows how crowded agent banking has become. Big players such as Moniepoint, OPay and PalmPay run huge agent networks, and many Nigerians now send money straight from their phones instead of visiting an agent. For smaller platforms, the numbers no longer add up.
It also follows other recent pullbacks in Nigerian tech, including Moove's exit after Uber left the country, as companies rethink costs in a weaker naira economy.
What this means for you
If you are a Baxi agent, act now. Check which principal bank your account was moved to, confirm your balance, and move your funds to your preferred bank well before the 30 day window closes. Keep records of every transaction and contact Onafriq's support team if anything looks wrong. If you plan to keep running a PoS business, compare charges and settlement speed across other providers before you sign up.
For customers who used a Baxi agent in the past, nothing changes: completed transfers sit with your own bank. Just make sure any agent you use now runs on an active, licensed platform.
Baxi's closure is a sign that Nigeria's PoS boom has matured. Scale now wins, and smaller agent networks are being squeezed out.
