List of five charges Nigerians pay for electronic transactions

Following the latest directives from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) authorizing banks operating in the country to start charging a cybersecurity levy on transactions, the apex bank has highlighted five charges Nigerians pay for online transactions.

Electronic payment transactions in Nigeria hit an all-time high in 2023 as they rose by 55 percent to N600 trillion, up from N387 trillion in 2022.

Electronic payments by phone, card, and computer continue to gain market share, and the CBN levy.

According to Persecondnews, the apex bank issued a circular on Monday stating that the levy implementation would begin two weeks from today.

The circular was dispatched to all commercial, merchant, non-interest, and payment service banks, among other things.

The circular explained that it was a follow-up to earlier letters on compliance with the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act 2015, dated June 25, 2018 (Ref: BPS/DIR/GEN/CIR/05/008) and October 5, 2018 (Ref: BSD/DIR/GEN/LAB/11/023), respectively.

Here are the five charges Nigerians pay for electronic transactions:

1. Cybersecurity levy (0.5% on every transaction):

N5 is charged on the transaction of N1,000.

N50 is charged on the transaction of N10,000.

N500 is charged on the transaction of N100,000.

N5,000 is charged on the transaction of N1,000,000.(Million)

N50,000 is charged on the transaction of N10,000,000.(Million)

2. Transfer fee

N10 is being charged on the transaction below N5,000

N25 is being charged on the transaction between 5,001 and N50,000

N50 is being charged on transactions above N50,000.

3. Stamp duties

N50 is being charged on transactions between N10,000 and N10,000,000.

4. Short Messaging Service (SMS)

N4 is being charged for each electronic transfer notification.

Note: This is only applicable to customers on eligible electronic transactions. Those who opt for e-mailing services are not charged the same.

5. Value Added Tax (VAT)

N0.75 is being charged on the N10 transfer fee.

N1.875 is being charged on the N25 transfer fee.

N3.75 is being charged on the N50 transfer fee.