The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed banks in the country to start charging 0.5% cybersecurity levy on all banking transactions.
The circular released on Monday states that, “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, which shall be administered by the Office of the National Security Adviser.”
According to the circular, “a new cybersecurity levy of 0.5% (equivalent to half a percent) will be applied to electronic transactions, as mandated by the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) (Amendment) Act 2024.”
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“This levy will be paid by the originator of the electronic transaction and deducted by the financial institution involved. The deducted amount will be clearly reflected in the customer’s account with the label “Cybersecurity Levy.
“Financial institutions are responsible for deducting the levy and remitting it to the National Cybersecurity Fund, which is administered by the Office of the National Security Adviser.
“Deductions are set to begin within two weeks from the date of the circular, which was issued on May 6. Financial institutions are required to remit the collected levies in bulk to the NCF account, domiciled at the CBN, on a monthly basis by the fifth business day of the following month.
“There are strict deadlines for financial institutions to update their systems to facilitate levy deduction and remittance. Failure to remit the levy can lead to penalties, including fines of up to 2% of a financial institution’s annual turnover.”
