The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has significantly reduced the cybersecurity levy on electronic transactions from the previously contested 0.5% to a much lower 0.005% in its updated fiscal guidelines for the 2024-2025 period.
This decision follows considerable opposition from the Nigeria Labour Congress, the Trade Union Congress, and various bank customers, who had expressed strong dissatisfaction with the initial introduction of the levy earlier this year.
In an announcement made on Wednesday, the CBN outlined that specific transactions will be exempt from the cybersecurity levy. These exemptions include wage payments, loan disbursements and repayments, as well as transfers within or between banks for the same customer.
Additionally, intra-bank transfers, cheque clearing and settlements, Letters of Credit, and other related bank and CBN transactions will also be exempt from the levy.
The CBN clarified, “the mandatory levy of 0.005 per cent on all electronic transactions by banks and other financial institutions will remain in place in accordance with the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015.”