A representative for Nigeria’s mobile money agents cast doubt on the prospects of an initiative designed to increase the number of teller points available in the country, The Guardian Nigeria reported.

Fasasi Sarafadeen, chairman for the Ibadan chapter of the Association of Mobile Money Agents in Nigeria, said a Central Bank of Nigeria-backed target of reaching 500,000 payment locations by 2020 was unrealistic given the current number of active agents was around 20,000.

He added a better strategy would be to engage with existing agents and incentivise them to increase transaction numbers rather than just recruit a greater number.

In the interview Sarafadeen also noted the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System infrastructure used to process payments would be unlikely to be able to cope with transactions from 500,000 different sources.

The target to increase the number of agents was detailed in the country’s Shared Agent Network Expansion Facility initiative, a strategy formed by the country’s central bank and a committee of bankers in the country.