NIGERIA: Several customers of Financial Technology (Fintech) companies such as Opay, Moniepoint, Palmpay and others woke up to face the commencement of the deduction of N50 Electronic Money Transfer Levy (ETML) on Monday.
This has triggered a fresh outcry from the customers.
Contrary to the position of many customers, the ETML is not new to the country’s financial landscape.
The ETML is charged by the federal government through the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) on every transactions above N10,000.
The traditional banks have been charging their customers for this, but not the fintechs.
However, in a notice on Sunday, the fintechs notified their customers of the commencement of the levy deduction.
In the statement, Opay noted that the deduction commenced the same day.
“Dear Customer, in line with the FIRS, the EMTL applies starting December 1st, 2024
“It is important to note that Opay does not benefit from this charge in any way as it is directed entirely by the federal government,” Opay explained.
Similarly, Moniepoint informed its customers of the commencement of the deduction of the levy.
“Please, be informed that in compliance with the Federal Government Stamp Duty Act, you would be charged an Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) of N50 by the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) on any electronic inflow of N10,000 and above.
“FIRS charges you N50 for inflow received in your Moniepoint personal bank account, Moniepoint does not benefit from this but only receives and remits this sum to FIRS” the Fintech noted.
Meanwhile, the Federal government is poised to rake in over N10 billion from the ETML.
According to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), there are currently over 219.6 million active bank accounts in the country as at March 2024.
Data from NIBBS showed that the government has generated the sum of N103.7 billion from ETML in the first half of 2024.
