The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has instructed deposit money banks across the country to implement a 0.5% cybersecurity levy on transactions.
In a circular dated May 6, 2024, the apex bank communicated this directive to all commercial, merchant, non-interest, and payment service banks, along with mobile money operators and payment service providers.
“As per the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) (amendment) Act 2024 and Section 44 (2) (a) of the Act, a levy of 0.5% (0.005) equivalent to half a percent of all electronic transactions value by the specified businesses is to be remitted to the National Cybersecurity Fund (NCF), under the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA),” stated the circular.
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Implementation of the levy is set to commence two weeks from the circular’s date. It will be applied at the initiation of electronic transfers, with the deducted amount reflected in the customer’s account as “Cybersecurity Levy.”
“Deductions will begin within two weeks from this circular for all financial institutions, with monthly remittances of collected levies in bulk to the NCF account at the CBN by the fifth business day of each subsequent month,” the circular further explained.
The levy exemptions include loan disbursements and repayments, salary payments, intra-account transfers within the same bank or across different banks for the same customer, inter-bank transfers among customers of the same bank, inter-branch transfers within a bank, cheque clearing and settlements, Letters of Credits, banks’ recapitalization-related funding, and bulk funds movement from collection accounts, savings, deposits, and long-term investments transactions.
The apex bank’s recent directives also include halting fintechs like Opay and Palmpay from enrolling new customers and mandating banks to apply a 0.375% stamp duty charge on all mortgaged-backed loans and bonds.
