𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 to Pay Cybersecurity Levy

7th May 2024

The Central Bank of Nigeria, on Monday, directed banks and other financial institutions to start charging a cybersecurity levy on all banking transactions.

According to the circular, the implementation of the levy would start in two weeks.

The circular reads in part: “Following the enactment of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) (amendment) Act 2024 and pursuant to the provision of Section 44 (2)(a) of the Act, ‘a levy of 0.5% (0.005) equivalent to a half percent of all electronic transactions value by the business specified in the Second Schedule of the Act,’ is to be remitted to the National Cybersecurity Fund, which shall be administered by the Office of the National Security Adviser.”

Some of the things to know about the newly introduced cybersecurity levy, according to the CBN, include a new levy of 0.5%, equivalent to half per cent, applied to electronic transactions as mandated by the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) (amendment) Act 2024; the levy is paid by the originator of the electronic transaction and deducted by the financial institution. The deducted amount shall be reflected in the customer’s account with the narration: “Cybersecurity Levy”, financial institutions will deduct the levy and remit it to the National Cybersecurity Fund administered by the Office of the National Security Adviser; deductions shall commence within two weeks from the date of the circular, May 6, and financial institutions must remit collected levies in bulk to the NCF account domiciled at the CBN monthly by the fifth business day of the following month; and financial institutions have deadlines to update their systems to handle levy deductions and remittances.

Failure to remit the levy, the circular added, could result in penalties, including a fine of up to 2% of a financial institution’s annual turnover.