Thelma Osatohanmwen
In a bid to bolster cybersecurity measures and combat cybercrime, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed banks in the country to commence charging a 0.5 percent cybersecurity levy on electronic transfers.
This directive, outlined in a circular signed by Chibuzor Efobi, Director of Payments System Management, and Haruna Mustafa, Director of Financial Policy and Regulation, applies to all commercial, merchant, non-interest, and payment service banks, among others.
The move came as a follow-up to previous correspondences dated June 25, 2018, and October 5, 2018, regarding compliance with the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act 2015.
The recent deduction and collection of the cybersecurity levy stem from the enactment of the 2024 Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment Act.
Under the provision of Section 44 (2)(a) of the Act, a levy of 0.5% of all electronic transactions’ value by specified businesses is to be remitted to the National Cybersecurity Fund (NCF), administered by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
Banks are directed to commence deductions within two weeks from the circular’s date, with monthly remittances to the NCF account domiciled at the CBN by the 5th business day of each subsequent month.
However, certain transactions remain exempt from the levy, including loan disbursements and repayments, salary payments, intra-account transfers within the same bank or between different banks for the same customer, and intra-bank transfers between customers of the same bank.
Transactions such as inter-branch transfers within a bank, cheque clearing and settlements, Letters of Credits, banks’ recapitalization-related funding, bulk funds movement from collection accounts, savings and deposits, including transactions involving long-term investments, are also unaffected by the cybersecurity levy.