CBN’s New Cybersecurity Levy Does Not Apply To These 16 Banking Transactions

On Monday, the Central Bank of Nigeria gave orders to all banks in the nation to start levying a 0.5% cybersecurity fee on all electronic transactions.

This was said by the apex bank in a circular posted online and which was signed by Chibuzo Efobi, Director of the Payments System Management Department, and Haruna Mustafa, Director of the Financial Policy and Regulation Department.

The circular stated that the fee would go into effect two weeks from Monday, May 6, 2024, and was addressed to all commercial, merchant, non-interest, and payment service banks, among other banks.

“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 partly read.

Below are 16 banking transactions that are exempted from the CBN’s new cybersecurity levy:

1. Loan disbursements and repayments
2. ⁠Salary payments
3. ⁠Intra-account transfers within the same bank or between different banks for the same customer
4. ⁠Intra-bank transfers between customers of the same bank
5. ⁠Other Financial Institutions instructions to their correspondent banks
6. ⁠Interbank placements
7. ⁠Banks’ transfers to CBN and vice-versa
8. Inter-branch transfers within a bank
9. ⁠Cheque clearing and settlements
10. ⁠Letters of Credits
11. ⁠Banks’ recapitalisation-related funding – only bulk funds movement from collection accounts
12. ⁠Savings and deposits, including transactions involving long-term investments such as Treasury Bills, Bonds, and Commercial Papers.
13. ⁠Government Social Welfare Programmes transactions e.g. Pension payments
14. ⁠Non-profit and charitable transactions, including donations to registered non-profit organizations or charities
15. ⁠Educational institutions’ transactions, including tuition payments and other transactions involving schools, universities, or other educational institutions
16. ⁠Transactions involving the bank’s internal accounts such as suspense accounts, clearing accounts, profit and loss accounts, inter-branch accounts, reserve accounts, nostro and vostro accounts, and escrow accounts.

Gentle Reminder: Be careful how you use your authority and influence, be wise, and treat others with respect. Chychy Jonas