The Central Bank of Nigeria instructed banks and other financial entities to begin imposing a cybersecurity charge on all banking transactions.
PUNCH Online reports that, based on the circular, the levy will start being enforced in a fortnight.
The circular stated, “Due to the passing of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) (amendment) Act 2024 and in accordance with Section 44 (2)(a) of the Act, a 0.5% levy on all electronic transactions value is to be sent to the National Cybersecurity Fund, overseen by the Office of the National Security Adviser.”
The following are some key points about the cybersecurity fee that Nigerians have to pay, as per the CBN circular:
1. A new levy A levy of 0.5%, which is equivalent to half a percent, is imposed on electronic transactions as mandated by the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) (amendment) Act 2024.
2. The fee is paid by the sender of the electronic transaction and taken by the financial institution. The deducted amount will be shown in the customer’s account with the description: “Cybersecurity Levy.”
3. Financial institutions will take out the levy and transfer it to the National Cybersecurity Fund operated by the Office of the National Security Adviser.
4. Deductions will start within two weeks from the circular date, May 6, and financial institutions must transfer the collected levies in bulk to the NCF account held at the CBN monthly by the fifth business day of the following month.
5. Financial institutions have deadlines to update their systems for handling levy deduction and transfer. Not remitting the levy can lead to penalties, such as a fine of up to 2% of the financial institution’s annual turnover.
