Baxi agents have 30 days to move their money as Onafriq shuts the network

Pan-African payments company Onafriq is winding down the Baxi agent banking business in Nigeria, and agents who signed up through the Baxi platform have been told to move their funds to a principal bank of their choice within 30 days. Onafriq announced the decision in a statement on Friday, October 16, 2026, about five years after it bought Baxi’s operator, Capricorn Digital Limited, in 2021, when the group still traded as MFS Africa.

Counting from that announcement, the window closes around mid-November, which gives a shop owner who runs a Baxi terminal for cash withdrawals, transfers and bill payments only a few weeks to clear their float and settle anything outstanding. Onafriq says the agents have already been transitioned to another principal bank, although it hasn’t named the bank publicly, and that its teams will support agents through the move.

Cheaper bank transfers squeezed the POS model Baxi was built on

Onafriq blamed a mix of pressures that changed the economics of offline agent banking after 2024. The naira’s fall and high inflation cut into transaction values while pushing up the cost of running the network, and the rapid growth of instant account-to-account transfers meant more Nigerians simply send money from their phones instead of walking to an agent. Competition among the big agent networks squeezed margins further, and the company said it concluded the model had become unsustainable after reviewing its long-term strategy.

Founder and chief executive Dare Okoudjou was candid about the outcome, saying “We entered Nigeria with conviction and commitment, but did not achieve the outcome we set out for.” He added that closing the business was a difficult decision that affects colleagues, agents and partners, and the company said staff whose jobs depend on the agent business will be consulted and supported. Onafriq stressed that it isn’t leaving Nigeria, and it will keep running its cross-border payment rails and card issuing here.

If you run a Baxi terminal, settle these before the window closes

Start by checking how much float is sitting in your Baxi wallet and moving it to the principal bank you’ve chosen, rather than leaving it until the last week when support lines are likely to be busier. Download or screenshot your recent transaction history and any pending reversals, because a failed withdrawal a customer is still waiting on is easier to resolve while the platform is live. If your terminal was leased or financed, ask in writing what happens to it and whether you need to return it.

Be careful with calls, SMS or WhatsApp messages from people claiming to be Baxi or Onafriq staff who offer to “help” with the migration. Don’t share your PIN, OTP or wallet password with anyone, because a closure like this is exactly the moment fraudsters use to impersonate support teams, and the same tactics show up in the scam networks Meta took down this week. Speak only to contacts you’ve dealt with before or that come through official Onafriq channels.

Customers who use a Baxi agent nearby have less to worry about

Onafriq’s statement focuses on agents and doesn’t say anything about end users, so there’s no published guidance for people who only visit a Baxi agent to withdraw cash or pay a bill. In most cases your money sits in your own bank account, not with Baxi, so the main thing to watch is any transaction that failed recently and hasn’t been reversed. Raise it with your bank now, since your bank is responsible for the reversal, and keep the receipt the agent gave you.

The exit follows a run of departures from Nigeria’s tech market this year, and it shows how quickly cheap mobile transfers are reshaping the corner POS business. Agents who switch quickly to another principal can keep serving the same customers with little interruption, while anyone who waits until mid-November risks finding their float stuck behind a closed platform.