Bank customers pay N133.89bn in e-transfer levy

Nigerian bank customers paid a total of N133.89 billion as the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) between January and August 2024, according to the 2025-2027 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP).

This amount represents 76 per cent of the government’s 2024 revenue target for the levy, which was set at N175.11 billion.

The EMTL, a one-time charge of N50, applies to every electronic money transfer above N10,000, deducted by banks on behalf of the government.

The levy, introduced in the Finance Act 2020, aims to promote the growth of electronic funds transfers in Nigeria.

It applies to all electronic transfers within Nigerian-licensed banks, with exceptions for transfers below N10,000, payments into one’s own account, and transfers between accounts of the same owner within the same bank.

The N133.89 billion collected from bank transactions in the first eight months of the year shows strong compliance with the levy, and analysts suggest this could indicate the growing role of electronic transactions in Nigeria’s economy.

According to fiscal policy analyst Bola Adebayo, “The strong collection rate indicates the successful implementation of the EMTL in Nigeria’s banking sector, and the government is clearly on track to meet or exceed its 2024 revenue targets.”

In a move to boost revenue further, the government plans to expand the scope of the EMTL collection in 2025 by extending the levy to fintech platforms.

Companies like OPay, Moniepoint, and PalmPay, which had previously operated without this charge, began notifying customers in September 2024 that the N50 levy would apply to all inflows of N10,000 and above.

However, the levy was only officially implemented on December 1, 2024, following delays.

This expansion marks a significant shift, as fintech companies, which had been offering lower-cost services, will now collect and remit the EMTL on behalf of the government.

“This is a major move towards including the burgeoning fintech sector in the national tax framework,” says financial analyst Sarah Ogunbiyi. “However, while it is a potential revenue boon for the government, it could disrupt customer behavior, especially among users who have grown accustomed to lower fees.”

The Nigerian government is targeting N228.85 billion in revenue from the EMTL in 2025, a 31 per cent increase over the 2024 projection.

This projection is based on the expectation that fintech platforms will significantly contribute to the levy collection.

The addition of fintech platforms to the levy collection framework is expected to bring millions of additional transactions into the tax net, which could drive a surge in revenue.

Economist Chuka Nwachukwu comments, “While the government’s decision to expand the EMTL is strategically sound from a revenue perspective, it’s essential that the financial burden on consumers, especially the less affluent, is minimized. Continued monitoring of the economic impact will be critical to ensure that the benefits outweigh the costs.”