Bank Customers To Pay More For Funds Transfer As CBN Directs Deduction Of New Levy

• Nigerian bank customers will start paying more for their electronic transfers.

• This comes after the CBN directed banks to charge a “cybersecurity levy”.

• The levy takes effect in two weeks.

Eko Hot Blog reports that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed all financial institutions to implement a 0.5 percent cybersecurity levy on electronic transfers.

This CBN gave the directive in a circular jointly signed by Chibuzor Efobi, its director of payments system management and Haruna Mustafa, its director of financial policy and regulation on Monday night.

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The circular was addressed to all commercial, merchant, non-interest, and payment service banks. Mobile money operators and other financial institutions are also affected by the development.

The CBN said the decision follows the enactment of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) (amendment) Act 2024.

The apex bank stated that the act mandates the levy be remitted to the National Cybersecurity Fund which shall be administered by the Office of the National Security Adviser.

Deductions will commence within two weeks from the date of the circular dated May 6, 2024, according to CBN.

“Following the enactment of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) (amendment) Act 2024 and under the provision of Section 44 (2)(a) of the Act, a levy of 0.5 per cent (0.005) equivalent to a half per cent of all electronic transactions value by the business specified in the Second Schedule of the Act, is to be remitted to the National Cybersecurity Fund which shall be administered by the Office of the National Security Adviser,” the circular reads in part.

“The levy shall be applied at the point of electronic transfer origination, then deducted and remitted by the financial institution. The deducted amount shall be reflected in the customer’s account with the narration, ‘Cybersecurity Levy’.

“Deductions shall commence within two weeks from the date of this circular for all financial institutions and the monthly remittance of the levies collected in bulk to the NCF account domiciled at the CBN by the fifth business day of every subsequent month.”

Exempted from the levy are loan disbursements and repayments, salary payments, intra-account transfers within the same bank or between different banks for the same customer, and intra-bank transfers between customers of the same bank.

Also exempted from the levy are inter-branch transfers within a bank, cheque clearing and settlements, ⁠Letters of Credits, ⁠Banks’ recapitalisation-related funding only bulk funds movement from collection accounts, savings and deposits including transactions involving long-term investments, among others.

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This directive comes barely a week after the Federal Government had directed Deposit Money Banks to immediately begin the deduction of 0.375 per cent stamp duty charge on all mortgaged-backed loans and bonds.

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