Nigeria imposes 0.5% cybersecurity levy on e-tranfers

Nigeria’s central bank announced on Monday that it will introduce a 0.5 per cent levy on all domestic electronic transfers to fund cybersecurity initiatives, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

The levy, outlined in a circular sent to all banks and mobile money operators, will come into effect within two weeks. Financial institutions that fail to comply will face a penalty of 2 per cent of their annual turnover.

The latest move follows a series of measures targeting the financial sector in Nigeria, which has seen a surge in cryptocurrency transactions that some officials believe have contributed to the naira’s depreciation against the US dollar.

In March, authorities filed charges of tax evasion and money laundering against Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, and two of its executives.

Last month, Nigerian commercial banks introduced processing fees for large cash deposits.

Individuals depositing over 500,000 naira ($1,111) now face a 2 per cent fee, while corporate deposits exceeding 3 million naira ($6,667) incur a 3 per cent charge.