Mixed reactions as Opay, Moniepoint and other fintech banks begin to charge N50 stamp duty on transactions above N10k
Mixed reactions have trailed the implementation of a N50 stamp duty fee on transactions of N10,000 and above by Opay, Moniepoint and other fintech banks in Nigeria.
In a notice to customers on Sunday, December 1, 2024, Moniepoint, said the move complies with Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) regulations, noting that the fee will be applied to electronic transfers into personal and business accounts.
The stamp duty or electronic money transfer levy (EMTL) is a single, one-off charge of N50 on electronic receipt or transfer of money deposited in any commercial money bank or financial institution on any type of account on sums of N10,000 and above.
In separate communications to customers, Opay also announced the implementation of the stamp duty from December 1.
The noticed by the bank reads; “Dear customer, in line with the FIRS, the EMTL applies starting December 1, 2024.”
The customers of Palmpay and other fintech banks received similar notifications.
What you should know
In recent times, the Electronic Money Transfer Levy has become an integral part of Nigeria’s tax system. This levy is, among others, primarily designed to generate revenue for the government. The Finance Act, 2019 amended various subsets of the existing tax and fiscal legislation at the time, including the Stamp Duty Act (SDA).
In December 2023, the FIRS directed deposit money banks to deduct and remit Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) on foreign currency (FCY) transactions going forward. Within the first five months of this year, a total of N78.95bn was accrued to the government from the N50 levy imposed on electronic bank transfers.
The regulations mandate the receiving bank to collect and remit the levy to the FIRS by the next working day after the transaction date or on such other date as prescribed by the FIRS.
In addition, the receiving bank is required to deduct the levy from the amount payable if the receiver is a walk-in customer who does not have an account with the bank.
The Central Bank of Nigeria predicted a decline in cash usage by 2025, further boosting digital payment channels.
Notably, cashless transactions skyrocketed to over N600tn by the end of 2023, up from N395.38tn in 2022. This upward trend persisted in 2024, with transactions soaring by 88.09 per cent to N237tn in the first quarter.”
Nigerians react
This mandatory deduction brings to an end the era of free banking services that some of the fintechs provide have generated mixed reactions from users. Many claimed it’s insensitive of the government to be imposing ‘additional tax’ amid the hardship being exprienced by the citizens, while others showed no concern with claimed that most commercial banks have been charging the levy more than a year.
@Yusufaa on X said; “It’s not today oooo. This has been on for over 2 or 3yrs now. This your statement is not correct.”
@ndukwemeruwa wrote; “It’s pure extortion to use some of these funds to buy presidential jet and renovate government houses.”
@Dambatta_1 reacted; “When are they going to start charging for oxygen?”
@AmeboThe said; “This is not new. Check the finance Act of 2019. It was introduced by Buhari’s government.”
