By China Nwokoji
NIGERIAN banks will start to charge N50 as an electronic transfer levy from dollar or pound accounts (known as Domiciliary Account).
The development comes as Stanbic IBTC, one of Nigeria’s commercial banks, said it will begin deducting the sum of N50 on transfers into domiciliary accounts.
The bank, in an email, notified its customers of the development on Wednesday, March 8, 2023.
The lender stated that the new levy would take effect immediately following the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) regulation by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed.
This is coming amidst outcry over rising transaction costs of financial services in the industry.
The new levy, usually completed by banks on behalf of the government, was previously restricted to naira accounts and now takes immediate effect.
Accordingly, a dollar or pound account holder would henceforth pay an equivalent of N50 as EMTL at an exchange rate to be determined by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“We write to notify you of recent changes impacting electronic money transfer transactions. The Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) Regulation was recently issued by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning.
“Based on the Regulation, the EMTL levy at the foreign currency equivalent of N50 is now applicable on the transfer of funds into domiciliary accounts. EMTL shall apply to qualifying inflows into domiciliary accounts with immediate effect,” a recent email sent by a bank read.
The minister signed the EMTL Regulations into law in 2022 placing a N50 fee on all deposits above N10,000. The charge on electronic transfer is an extension of the Stamp Duty Act, which came into force via the Finance Act 2019.
The extension of the charges to foreign currency accounts comes on the heels of an increase in social protest over the rising cost of banking services, particularly electronic transactions that the CBN is enforcing.
Cheap transaction costs, convenience and speed are given as major reasons Nigerian depositors are dumping conventional banks for fintech, despite the concern about the safety of depositors’ funds on digital wallets in the custody of the digital-first banks.
Meanwhile, banks across the country are not finding it easy to keep the crowds in their premises at a controllable level as demand for cash continues to increase.
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