The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the implementation of a cybersecurity levy on all electronic transactions within the country, effective two weeks from May 6, 2024.
In a circular jointly signed by Chibuzo Efobi, Director of the Payments System Management Department, and Haruna Mustafa, Director of the Financial Policy and Regulation Department, the CBN directed all commercial, merchant, non-interest, and payment service banks to commence charging a 0.5 per cent levy on electronic transactions.
“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,’” the circular stated.
However, the CBN outlined 16 banking transactions exempted from the cybersecurity levy, including loan disbursements and repayments, salary payments, and intra-account transfers within the same bank or between different banks for the same customer.
The exempted transactions also include interbank placements, cheque clearing and settlements, and transactions involving bank’s internal accounts such as suspense accounts, clearing accounts, and escrow accounts.
