The Central Bank of Nigeria has implemented Cybersecurity Levy on Transactions.
In a recent circular, the Central Bank of Nigeria has mandated banks operating within the country to introduce a cybersecurity levy on electronic transactions. The implementation of this levy, as specified in the circular issued on Monday, will commence two weeks from now.
The circular, directed to various banks including commercial, merchant, non-interest, and payment service banks, serves as a follow-up to previous correspondences dated June 25, 2018 (Ref: BPS/DIR/GEN/CIR/05/008) and October 5, 2018 (Ref: BSD/DIR/GEN/LAB/11/023). These correspondences emphasized the importance of complying with the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act of 2015.
However, the apex bank has outlined certain exemptions from the levy. Transactions exempted from the cybersecurity levy include 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. Additionally, inter-branch transfers within a bank, cheque clearing and settlements, Letters of Credits, and banks’ recapitalization-related funding, limited to bulk funds movement from collection accounts, savings, deposits, and transactions involving long-term investments, are also exempted.
Nigerians have taken to social media platforms to express their dissatisfaction with the newly introduced levy, stating that it adds to the burden of existing levies on electronic transactions. In this report, PUNCH Online sheds light on the five other transaction levies and their corresponding deductions for transactions ranging from N1,000 to N1,000,000.
Here are the details of the five levies:
Cybersecurity Levy:
N5 is charged on transactions of N1,000
N50 is charged on transactions of N10,000
N500 is charged on transactions of N100,000
N5,000 is charged on transactions of N1,000,000
N50,000 is charged on transactions of N10,000,000
Transfer Fee:
N10 is charged for transactions below N5,000
N25 is charged for transactions between N5,001 and N50,000
N50 is charged for transactions above N50,000
Stamp Duties:
N50 is charged for transactions between N10,000 and N10,000,000
Short Messaging Service (SMS):
N4 is charged for each electronic transfer notification
Please note: Customers who opt for email notifications are not subject to the same charge.
Value Added Tax:
N0.75 is charged on N10 transfer fee
N1.875 is charged on the N25 transfer fee
N3.75 is charged on the N50 transfer fee.
These levies have sparked debate among Nigerians, who are concerned about the cumulative burden they impose on electronic transactions. As the implementation of the cybersecurity levy approaches, citizens continue to voice their opinions on the matter.
