See Exemptions To CBN’s Cybersecurity Levy

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has mandated all banks to begin charging a cybersecurity levy on transactions.

Gatekeepers News reports that the levy is to be implemented in two weeks and is a follow-up on earlier letters emphasizing compliance with Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act 2015.

The Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) (Amendment) Act 2024 has provided for the levy of 0.5 per cent (0.005) equivalent to a half per cent of all electronic transactions value by the business specified in the Second Schedule of the Act.

This levy is to be remitted to the National Cybersecurity Fund which shall be administered by the Office of the National Security Adviser.

Exempted from the levy include;

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 banks
6. 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
12. Savings and deposits including transactions involving long-term investments such as treasury bills, bonds, and commercial papers.
13. Government social welfare programmes transactions e.g. pension payments.
14. Non-profit 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 bank’s internal accounts such as suspense accounts, clearing accounts, profit and loss accounts, inter-branch accounts, reserve accounts, nostro and vostro accounts, and escrow accounts.

The CBN noted that failure to remit the levy is an offence liable “on conviction to a fine of not less than 2 percent of the annual turnover of the defaulting business, amongst others”.