CEM REPORT, FINANCE | The Federal Government has directed deposit money banks (DMBs) to extend the electronic money transfer levy (EMTL) to domiciliary accounts.
The directive further instructs DMBs to commerce the action immediately.
According to the EMTL Regulations as signed into law in 2022, the charge is a further extension of the Stamp Duty Act, which came into force via the Finance Act 2019, stipulats that a charge of ₦50 shall be deducted on all deposits above ₦10,000 by DMBs and remitted to the federal government.
The notification through the head of the Ministry of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, on behalf of the federal government, notes that domiciliary account will be charged the same fee at an exchange rate to be determined by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
A mail sent to customers by a bank reads;
“We write to notify you of recent changes impacting electronic money transfer transactions. The Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) Regulation was recently issued by the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning.
“Based on the Regulation, the EMTL levy at the foreign currency equivalent of N50 is now applicable on the transfer of funds into domiciliary accounts. EMTL shall apply to qualifying inflows into domiciliary accounts with immediate effect,” Guardian reports.
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The extension of the charges to foreign currency accounts comes amidst increase in complains over the rising cost of banking services, particularly electronic transactions that the CBN is glamouring.
Charges of this kind, has influenced the decision of many Nigerians to dump bricks and block banks for FinTechs as they offer almost cost-free transaction with convenience and good speed against the network breakdown frequently experienced with many of the conventional banks since the cash crunch hit the nation’s economy.
