CBN extends processing fees on cash deposits to Sept. 30

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has extended the suspension of processing fees on deposits within some thresholds.

This is according to a statement by Adetona Adedeji, acting Director, Banking Supervision Department on Wednesday in Abuja.

Adedeji said that the suspension of two per cent and three per cent previously charged on cash deposits above N500,000 for individuals and N3 million for corporates was now extended to September 30.

“Consequently, all financial institutions regulated by the CBN should continue to accept all cash deposits from the public without charges until Sept. 30”, he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the suspension of charges on cash deposits above those thresholds was initially affected by the apex bank on December 11, 2023.

The extension is coming on the heels of widespread condemnation of the new cybersecurity levy of 0.5 per cent on electronic transactions recently announced by the CBN.

The apex bank had announced that the implementation of the levy would start two weeks from May 6.

It said 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,” it said.

However, some 16 banking transactions were exempted from the new cybersecurity levy.

They include loan disbursements and repayments, salary payments, intra-account transfers within the same bank or between different banks for the same customer, and intra-bank transfers between customers of the same bank among others.

By the calculations of the new levy, N5 will be charged on a transaction of N1,000, while N50 will be charged on a transaction of N10,000.

Others are N500 charge on a transaction of N100,000, N5,000 charge on a transaction of N1,000,000, and N50,000 charge on a transaction of N10,000,000.

The cybersecurity levy will now be added to the already existing bank charges like transfer fees, stamp duty, charges on SMS, and VAT charged on a transaction of N1,000, while N50 will be charged on a transaction of N10,000.

Others are N500 charge on a transaction of N100,000, N5,000 charge on a transaction of N1,000,000, and N50,000 charge on a transaction of N10,000,000.

The cybersecurity levy will now be added to already existing bank charges like transfer fees, stamp duty, charges on SMS and VAT.

He noted: “We decided to adopt the clean energy approach which not only provides light but helps in the fight to mitigate the effects of climate change on our environment and earn carbon credits for the Commission.”

Ogbuku told the leaders that the NDDC had embraced a Triple-T Policy which represents Transiting from Transaction to Transformation, emphasizing transparency and accountability. Along this line, he said, the Commission was making progress with its youth development and empowerment scheme, known as Holistic Opportunities, Projects and Engagement, HOPE, which was building a comprehensive database of the youth population of the Niger Delta region.

He called on the youths of the Niger Delta region to ensure that they were registered on the website of project HOPE, which would benefit all Niger Delta youths.

Ogbuku said further: “We have also inaugurated the Niger Delta Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Trade, Mines and Agriculture, NDCCITMA, which along with the Bank of Industry will serve as a platform for supporting young entrepreneurs in the region on a sustainable basis.

Speaking on other programmes of the Commission, the NDDC boss said that the World Health Organisation, WHO, had agreed to partner the NDDC to implement a Health Insurance Project, as well as other health programmes that would benefit the people of the Niger Delta region.

Ogbuku said: “The World Health Organisation is exploring collaborations with us on our health programmes, especially the free medical missions. The participation of WHO in our medical outreach programme will ensure that those vaccines that we don’t have access to, are procured through them for the benefit of our people.

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