The Central Bank of Nigeria has ordered banks in the country to begin imposing a cybersecurity fee on transactions.
According to a circular issued by the apex bank on Monday, the levy would begin two weeks from today.
The circular was aimed to all commercial, merchant, non-interest, and payment service banks, among others.
The circular stated that it was a follow-up to previous letters dated June 25, 2018 (Ref: BPS/DIR/GEN/CIR/05/008) and October 5, 2018 (Ref: BSD/DIR/GEN/LAB/11/023) about compliance with the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act 2015.
However, the central bank exempted loan disbursements and repayments, salary payments, intra-account transfers within the same bank or between other banks for the same client, and intra-bank transfers between customers of the same bank from the fee.
Exemptions from the levy include inter-branch transfers within a bank, cheque clearing and settlements, Letters of Credits, and banks’ recapitalization-related funding.
Nigerians are complaining on social media about the new fee, which they say adds to the already high cost of electronic transactions. In this report, PUNCH Online highlights the five additional transaction taxes paid as well as the amount withheld from transactions ranging from N1,000 to N1,000,000.
1. Cybersecurity levy
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
N50,000 is charged on the transaction of N10,000,000
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 on each electronic transfer notification
NB: 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
N0.75 is being charged on N10 transfer fee
N1.875 is being charged on the N25 transfer fee
N3.75 is being charged on N50 transfer fee.
