NIBSS reduces electronic transfer levy to ₦3.75 kobo

According to the release which was signed by the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Premier Oiwoh, and the Executive Director, Business Development, Ngover Ihyembe-Nwankwo, the central payment platform noted that the reduction was to align with its plan to drive financial inclusion and support innovation in the financial industry.

Part of the announcement read “We are delighted to inform you that the board and management of Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement Plc has approved a further reduction in the transaction processing fees on NIBSS Instant Payment from ₦5 to ₦3.75k effective July 1, 2023.

“In line with our commitment to drive financial inclusion and support innovation, we are also embarking on a volume-driven discount regime to complement this fee reduction and further details will be communicated in due course.”

Experts have, however, argued that the reduction in processing fees may not really affect the bank charges paid by customers as most banks will not replicate the reduction in their charges.

Revenue from fees and commissions from financial transactions have been noted to be a huge source of income for the banks hence the reason they may not follow suit with the NIBSS fee cut.

In 2022, four banks made a cumulative income of ₦607.6 billion from fees and commissions.

According to sources conversant with the development, most banks may find it difficult to follow suit with the fee cut unless the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN compels them to do so.

Currently, transactions under ₦5,000 attracted a processing charge of ₦10 fee, transactions between ₦5,000 and ₦50,000 attracted a processing fee of ₦26 while transactions above ₦50,000 attracted a fee of ₦50.

The drop in NIBSS processing fee comes amid the surge in electronic transaction volume following the sudden rise in usage of the platform due to the CBN’s failed naira redesign policy which turned many Nigerians to cashless transactions.

This development took cashless transactions up by 44.84% from ₦87.49 trillion in Q1 2022 to ₦126.73 trillion in Q1, 2023.