Business

ICYMI: Five Things To Know About The New Cybersecurity Levy To Be Paid By Nigerians

Published

2 years ago

May 7, 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 sighted by The PUNCH, the implementation of the levy would start in two weeks.

The circular read 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.”

Here are some things to know about the cybersecurity levy to be paid by Nigerians, according to the CBN circular:

1. A new levy of 0.5%, equivalent to half per cent, is applied to electronic transactions as mandated by the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) (amendment) Act 2024.

2. 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.”

3. Financial institutions will deduct the levy and remit it to the National Cybersecurity Fund administered by the Office of the National Security Adviser.

4. 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.

5. Financial institutions have deadlines to update their systems to handle levy deduction and remittance. Failure to remit the levy can result in penalties, including a fine of up to 2% of a financial institution’s annual turnover.

Business

14 Nigerian Banks Yet To Meet CBN’s Recapitalization Deadline [FULL LIST]

Published

58 minutes ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

With barely eleven weeks to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) recapitalisation deadline, fourteen banks are yet to meet the requirement.

This comes as DAILY POST reports that 19 Nigerian banks had met the apex bank’s recapitalisation requirements as of January 6, 2025.

The banks that have complied with the CBN’s minimum capital benchmark include Access Bank, Fidelity Bank, First Bank, GTBank (GTCO), UBA, Zenith Bank, and twelve others.

However, as of the time of filing this report, fourteen Nigerian banks are yet to comply.

The banks that have not met the apex bank’s recapitalisation requirement include First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Unity Bank, Keystone Bank, Union Bank (Titan), Taj Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Parallex Bank, and SunTrust Bank.

Others are FBH Merchant Bank, Rand Merchant Bank, Coronation Merchant Bank, Alternative Bank, and other non-interest banks.

Meanwhile, financial experts have predicted possible mergers and acquisitions ahead of the March 31 deadline.

Business

Naira Extends Appreciation Against US Dollar

Published

15 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Editor

The naira extended appreciation against the dollar at the official foreign exchange market on Wednesday.

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s data showed that the Naira further firmed up on Wednesday to N1,418.26 per dollar, up from N1,419.07 exchanged on Tuesday.

Wednesday’s uptrend represents a slight N0.80 gain against the dollar on a day-to-day basis.

Meanwhile, at the black market, the Naira remained unchanged against the dollar at N1,480 per dollar on Wednesday, the same rate recorded the previous day.

The development comes as Nigeria’s foreign reserves further rose to $45.62 billion as of January 6th, 2026.

Recall that on Tuesday, the Naira posted a N10.24 gain against the dollar.

Business

Naira Continues Gain Against US Dollar As Nigeria’s Foreign Reserves Climb To $45.57bn

Published

3 days ago

January 6, 2026

Editor

The Naira appreciated further against the United States Dollar at the official foreign exchange market, beginning the week on a good note.

Central Bank of Nigeria data showed that the Naira strengthened on Monday to N1,429.31 per dollar, up from N1,430.85 exchanged on Friday, 2 January 2026.

This means that the Naira gained N1.56 against the dollar on Monday when compared to N1,430.85 last week Friday.

At the black market, the Naira dropped by N5 to N1480 per dollar on Monday, down from N1475 traded Friday.

The development comes as the country’s external reserves rose to $45.57 billion as of Friday last week.