Cybersecurity Levy: FG Heaps Another Burden on Nigerians

If you are in Nigeria and use the electronic banking services of banks, then be ready for the latest, Cybersecurity levy. It will be slammed on your accounts and you would have no alternative but to pay, indications have shown.

The charge is 0.5 % for all customers needing electronic banking services, and this would come as another heavy burden on already challenged Nigerians.

The cybersecurity levy is coming amidst increasing economic difficulty across the country, essentially high cost of living.

A circular to the effect had already been released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The circular on cybersecurity levy dated May 6, 2024 has been dispatched to all commercial, merchant, non-interest and payment service banks in the country.

It has also been sent to mobile money operators and payment service providers, and reads as follows:

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“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 (NCF), which shall be administered by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA),” the circular partly read.

According to the CBN, the implementation of the levy would start two weeks from the date of the circular, which implies May 20, 2024.

“The levy shall be applied at the point of electronic transfer origination, then deducted and remitted by the financial institution.

“The deducted amount shall be reflected in the customer’s account with the narration, ‘Cybersecurity Levy’.”

For some time now, there has been no respite to hardship for Nigerians with prices of essential items, not only hitting the rooftops but staying there.

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The Eagle reports that amidst increasing suffering of Nigerians, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission on April 3 raised the electricity tariff for customers enjoying 20 hours of power supply daily.

That hike irked many Nigerians who wondered why the government was making life even more miserable for the citizens, especially given the central position of light in the economic and social scheme of things.