CBN orders banks to impose Cybersecurity levy

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has instructed banks to begin imposing a cybersecurity levy on transactions.

A circular issued on Monday by the apex bank indicated that the levy’s enforcement would commence two weeks from today. The directive was addressed to all commercial, merchant, non-interest, and payment service banks, among other financial institutions.

The circular stated it was a follow-up on an earlier letter dated June 25, 2018 (Ref: BPS/DIR/GEN/CIR/05/008) and October 5, 2018 (Ref: BSD/DIR/GEN/LAB/11/023), respectively, on compliance with the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act 2015.

It said: “Deductions shall commence within two weeks from the date of this circular for all financial institutions and the monthly remittance of the levies collected in bulk to the NCF account domiciled at the CBN by the fifth business day of every subsequent month.”

Exempted from the levy are loan disbursements and repayments, salary payments, intra-account transfers within the same bank or between different banks for the same customer, intra-bank transfers between customers of the same bank.

List of exemptions from cybersecurity charges are as follows:

1. Loan disbursements and repayments

2. Salary payments

3. Intra-account transfers within the same bank or between different banks for the same customer

4. Intra-bank transfers between customers of the same bank

5. Other Financial Institutions (OFIs) instructions to their correspondent

6. Banks Interbank placements

7. Banks’ transfers to CBN and vice-versa

8. Inter-branch transfers within a bank

9. Cheques clearing and settlements

10. Letters of Credits (LCs)

11. Banks’ recapitalization related funding – only bulk funds movement from collection accounts

12. Savings and deposits including transactions involving long-term investments such as Treasury Bills, Bonds, and Commercial Papers.

13. Government Social Welfare Programs transactions e.g. Pension payments

14. Non-profit and charitable transactions including donations to registered nonprofit organisations or charities.

15. Educational Institutions transactions, including tuition payments and other transaction involving schools, universities, or other educational institutions.

16. Transactions involving bank’s internal accounts such as suspense accounts, clearing accounts, profit and loss accounts, inter-branch accounts, reserve accounts, nostro and vostro accounts, and escrow accounts