Full List: 16 Transactions Exempted From CBN’s Cybersecurity Levy Debits on Customers Bank Accounts

• The Central Bank of Nigeria has ordered all Nigerian banks to start charging a cybersecurity levy on transactions
• Access Bank, UBA, and Zenith Bank, including mortgage banks, will begin debiting customers' accounts
• The amount debited will then be remitted to the federal government for use for the intended purpose

Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of business journalism experience with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.

In two weeks, Nigerian banks will begin deducting a 0.5% cybersecurity levy on customers' transactions.

This is 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.

The circular reads:

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“Deductions shall commence within two weeks from the date of this circular for all financial institutions and the monthly remittance of the levies collected in bulk to the NCF account domiciled at the CBN by the fifth business day of every subsequent month.”

Exempted transactions from CBN's cybersecurity levy

However, not all transactions will be part of the latest directive, and this includes

1. Loan disbursements and repayments

2. Salary payments

3. Intra-account transfers within the same bank or between different banks for the same customer

4. Intra-bank transfers between customers of the same bank

5. Other Financial Institutions (OFIs) instructions to their correspondent

6. Banks Interbank placements

7. Banks' transfers to CBN and vice-versa

8. Inter-branch transfers within a bank

9. Cheques clearing and settlements

10. Letters of Credits (LCs)

11. Banks' recapitalisation related funding – only bulk funds movement from collection accounts

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Access, UBA, Zenith, others to begin 0.5% cybersecurity levy debits on customers' bank account

12. Savings and deposits, including transactions involving long-term investments such as Treasury Bills, Bonds, and Commercial Papers.

13. Government Social Welfare Programs transactions, e.g. Pension payments

14 Nonprofit and charitable transactions, including donations to registered non-profit organisations or charities.

15. Educational Institutions transactions, including tuition payments and other transactions involving schools, universities, or other educational institutions.

16. Transactions involving the bank's internal accounts include suspense accounts, clearing accounts, profit and loss accounts, inter-branch accounts, reserve accounts, nostro and vostro accounts, and escrow accounts.

Banks to debit debtors' bank accounts

Legit.ng earlier reported that the CBN governor, Olayemi Cardoso, revealed that over N10 trillion has been loaned to customers under various intervention schemes.

CBN data showed that between September and October 2022, the apex bank disbursed about N41.02 billion to several agricultural projects under the Anchor Borrowers' Programme (ABP).

The total disbursement under the ABP scheme amounts to N1.07 trillion, which is distributed to about 4.6 million smallholder farmers growing 21 commodities nationwide.

Source: Legit.ng