CBN directs banks to charge 0.5% Cybersecurity levy

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has instructed deposit money banks across the nation to introduce a 0.5% cybersecurity levy on specific transactions conducted by their customers. The directive was dispatched to all commercial, merchant, non-interest, and payment service banks, as well as mobile money operators and payment service providers.

The apex bank specified that the levy’s enforcement would commence two weeks from the circular’s issuance.

“Following the enactment of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) (amendment) Act 2024 and pursuant to the provision of Section 44 (2) (a) of the Act, ‘a levy of 0.5% (0.005) equivalent to a half percent of all electronic transactions value by the business specified in the Second Schedule of the Act,’ is to be remitted to the National Cybersecurity Fund (NCF), which shall be administered by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA),” the circular stated.

“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’. Deductions shall commence within two weeks from the date of this circular for all financial institutions and the monthly remittance of the levies collected in bulk to the NCF account domiciled at the CBN by the fifth business day of every subsequent month,” the circular further explained.

Furthermore, the CBN clarified that the new levy would not be applicable to transactions such as loan disbursements and repayments, salary payments, intra-account transfers within the same bank or between different banks for the same customer, intra-bank transfers between customers of the same bank, inter-branch transfers within a bank, cheque clearing and settlements, Letters of Credits, banks’ recapitalization-related funding only bulk funds movement from collection accounts, savings and deposits including transactions involving long-term investments, among others.