The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced a new cybersecurity levy on domestic electronic transfers, aiming to bolster the nation's defenses against cyber threats. Effective in two weeks, all banks and mobile money operators will be required to charge a 0.5% levy on the value of each transaction.
The funds generated from this levy will be managed by the office of the National Security Adviser and used to strengthen cybersecurity infrastructure and capabilities.
Non-compliance with the new regulation will result in a penalty of 2% of the institution's annual turnover, the central bank said.
The move comes amid a growing regulatory scrutiny of cryptocurrency activity in Nigeria. Officials have attributed the nation's currency weakness, with the naira reaching record lows against the US dollar, to the rise of crypto transactions.
The introduction of the cybersecurity levy follows the implementation of processing fees for cash deposits exceeding specific thresholds. Individuals depositing 500,000 naira or more will incur a 2% fee, while corporate transactions exceeding 3 million naira will be subject to a 3% fee.