Nigerian PoS Giant Baxi Shuts Down as ₦19.9bn Debt, Failed Sale Hit Onafriq

• Onafriq has shut down Baxi after a failed sale, falling revenue and mounting financial pressure
• Financial records revealed ₦19.9 billion in overdrafts as agency-service revenue fell 56% between 2023 and 2024
• Baxi agents have 30 days to transfer their funds as Nigeria’s PoS market grows more competitive

Pascal Oparada is a journalist with Legit.ng, covering technology, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy for over a decade.

Nigeria's agency banking industry has suffered a major setback following the shutdown of Baxi, a prominent point-of-sale (PoS) operator owned by pan-African payments company Onafriq.

The closure, announced on October 16, 2026, comes after unsuccessful efforts to sell the business, declining revenue and mounting financial pressures.

Financial disclosures also revealed that Onafriq's Nigerian subsidiary had outstanding bank overdrafts totalling ₦19.9 billion as of July 2026.

The development raises concerns about the sustainability of smaller agency banking operators amid rising competition, inflation and changing consumer payment habits.

Baxi shutdown follows unsuccessful sale negotiations

According to Onafriq's audited financial statements filed in the United Kingdom, the company had been negotiating the sale of Baxi months before announcing its closure.

The proposed transaction involved selling the entire Nigerian agency banking operation to an unidentified buyer.

However, negotiations remained unresolved as of July 29, when the financial statements were approved.

Onafriq disclosed that its Nigerian subsidiary had entered into a non-binding agreement with a prospective purchaser, TechCabal reports.

The company said the proposed transaction covered 100% of the agency banking business and related operations, subject to a definitive agreement.

The October shutdown announcement did not clarify whether negotiations had formally ended.

Onafriq reveals ₦19.9 billion banking exposure

Financial records showed that Onafriq Nigeria Payments Limited had outstanding overdrafts of ₦13.8 billion with Zenith Bank and ₦6.1 billion with Stanbic IBTC Bank.

The combined exposure stood at ₦19.9 billion, equivalent to approximately $15 million at the reported exchange rate.

Meanwhile, revenue from agency services declined sharply by 56%, falling from $30.4 million in 2023 to $13.4 million in 2024.

Gross profit also dropped by 65%, from $13.4 million to $4.7 million, despite operating costs directly associated with agency services falling from $17 million to $8.7 million.

Onafriq subsequently wrote off $4.56 million in goodwill associated with its Nigerian payments business in 2024, following an earlier $2.4 million impairment in 2023.

The write-offs reflected deteriorating expectations about the investment's future earnings.

Rising PoS competition squeezes Baxi profits

Onafriq attributed the shutdown to inflation, naira depreciation, rising operating expenses and shrinking transaction margins.

The growing popularity of account-to-account transfers also weakened the economics of traditional offline payment networks, ThisDay reported.

However, Nigeria's broader PoS industry continues to expand.

According to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), PoS transaction values surged by 79% to ₦18.78 trillion in the first quarter of 2026.

Deployed terminals also increased from 2.45 million in 2023 to 5.56 million in 2024.

Despite this expansion, transaction volumes grew by just 8% in 2024, suggesting intensifying competition for individual payments.

Major operators such as Moniepoint have strengthened their market positions, with the company reporting more than one million active PoS terminals in Nigeria by 2026.

Baxi agents given 30-day withdrawal window

Baxi's closure represents a significant reversal for Onafriq, which acquired the company in 2021 when it operated as MFS Africa.

The acquisition received Central Bank of Nigeria approval in March 2022.

At the time, Baxi operated more than 90,000 agents and processed transactions exceeding $1.6 billion annually.

Its network subsequently expanded to more than 460,000 agents by 2025.

Following the shutdown, Onafriq said it had transferred agents to another principal bank and provided a 30-day window for moving their funds to a preferred principal bank.

The company will nevertheless retain its Nigerian payments network and card-issuing operations.

What Baxi closure means for agents

The shutdown highlights growing pressure on agency banking businesses despite Nigeria's expanding digital payments market.

For affected agents, the immediate priority is transferring outstanding funds and securing alternative service providers.

For the wider fintech industry, Baxi's exit demonstrates that increasing transaction values and terminal deployments do not necessarily translate into sustainable profitability.

The challenge for remaining operators will be maintaining affordable services while managing rising costs and intensifying competition.

5 reasons behind Baxi shutdown decision

Legit.ng earlier reported that Onafriq, the pan-African payments company, has announced the closure of its Baxi agent banking business in Nigeria, citing economic pressures and changing customer payment habits that have made its operations difficult to sustain.

The company, which acquired Capricorn Digital Limited, the operator of Baxi, in 2021, said persistent inflation, naira depreciation, rising operating costs and increasing competition had weakened the business.