The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that it will continue to enforce the controversial cybercrime levy of 0.005% on all electronic transactions under its recently released guidelines for the 2024/2025 fiscal year.
The apex bank ditched the controversial levy after the intervention of President Bola Tinubu following public outrage.
The bank is now being reintroduced and mandated by the Cybercrime Act 2025, which aims to boost Nigeria’s security infrastructure.
According to reports, the apex bank reduced the percentage from 0.5% to 0.005% in the new guidelines.
The Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade, and Exchange Policy Guidelines for Fiscal Years 2024/2024 document released by CBN reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to this charge, requiring banks and other financial institutions to deduct the levy from all electronic transactions.
According to reports, the revenue from the levy would be directed to a cybersecurity fund to support efforts to safeguard electronic transactions.
CBN said:
The bank restates the minimum cybersecurity baseline for banks and financial institutions.
The new guidelines also reaffirm the bank’s commitment to ensuring that banks, financial institutions, and payment service providers abide by the minimum cybersecurity standards.
They standards include appointing chief information security officers to oversee cybersecurity issues in line with the 2022 risk-based cybersecurity framework.
A circular from the apex bank dated Monday, May 6, 2024, disclosed that the deduction would start in two weeks.
The directive is for all types of banks – commercial, merchant, non-interest, and payment service banks.
It applies to other financial institutions, mobile money operators, and payment service providers.
TimesNow.com.ng earlier reported that Nigerian banks would begin deducting a 0.5% cybersecurity levy on customers’ transactions in two weeks.
This was in obedience to CBN’s circular, which was issued on Monday, May 6, 2024, and directed to all commercial, merchant, non-interest, and payment service banks, among others.
Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at TimesNow.com.ng
Source: TimesNow.com.ng
