PoS Operators Raise Withdrawal Fees Following New ₦50 Levy

• PoS operators in Nigeria raised fees due to a new ₦50 levy.
• The ₦50 levy applies to transactions of ₦10,000 or more.
• The charge affects both fintech platforms and bank-affiliated PoS agents.

Point-of-Sale (PoS) operators across Nigeria have increased their withdrawal fees, now charging between ₦150 and ₦200 for every ₦5,000 transaction, up from ₦100 previously.

The hike in charges is attributed to the ₦50 Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), imposed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on financial technology (fintech) companies.

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that in September, fintech firms revealed plans to apply the ₦50 levy on transactions of ₦10,000 or more, in compliance with FIRS regulations.

This one-time charge is applied to electronic transfers or receipts of ₦10,000 and above into both personal and business accounts via any commercial bank or financial institution.

The policy officially came into effect on December 1, compelling major fintech platforms such as OPay, Moniepoint, and Kuda to implement the charge.

Sarafadeen Fasasi, National President of the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria (AMMBAN), confirmed that the new levy was the primary reason behind the increased PoS transaction fees. “We have to transfer the cost of the charges being imposed. It started immediately after FIRS enforced the ₦50 charge,” Fasasi explained.

Fasasi also clarified that the ₦50 stamp duty is not a new policy but one that was inconsistently implemented. Previously, only bank-affiliated PoS agents were charged the levy. However, the policy has now been extended to fintech companies, which control about 70% of the PoS market.

“The stamp duty is not new; it’s just now being enforced by fintechs, which make up a significant portion of the agent space,” Fasasi said. “That’s why it feels like a new policy.”

With the policy now fully enforced across fintech platforms, PoS agents have been left with little choice but to adjust their fees accordingly.

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