CBN denies reintroducing cybersecurity levy for electronic transactions

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has denied reintroducing the cybersecurity levy that was previously suspended.

The apex bank made the clarification in a statement on Friday, September 21, 2024.

It was earlier reported that the controversial levy had now been reduced to 0.005 per cent, from the initial 0.5 per cent.

The reporter which sighted the CBN’s Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade, and Exchange Policy Guidelines for the Fiscal Years 2024-2025 said that implementation of the levy was in accordance with the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015.

It mandated banks and Payment Service Providers (PSPs) to adhere to the guidelines on the risk-based cybersecurity framework.

The central bank also drew the attention of Other Financial Institutions (OFIs) to an earlier framework on “Issuance of Risk-based Cybersecurity framework and Guidelines for Other Financial Institutions (OFIs)”.

The guidelines specified the minimum cybersecurity baseline to be implemented by banks, OFIs and PSPs, and mandated the appointment of a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) to oversee cybersecurity issues.

However, the CBN in a new statement on Friday titled Clarification on the Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade, and Exchange Policy Guidelines for fiscal Years 2024 -2025 (MONETARY POLICY CIRCULAR NO. 45) said it has not reintroduced the levy.

The statement partly reads; “Some recent media publications referencing aspects of the Guidelines refer to policy positions of the Bank issued prior to 31st December 2023, which have changed in the light of revisions and updates in 2024. One example is the Cyber Security Levy, which was suspended in May 2024, superseding the circular reported in the Guidelines.

“Certain technical aspects of the Guidelines have been widely misreported and misrepresented. For example, reports have mistakenly sought to link the fuel subsidy removal to external reserves.

“Such reports essentially missed the analytical basis for the original statement, which was intended to observe a potential risk that was to be mitigated by policy.

“More recently, policies of the Bank around the Naira exchange rate and those of the fiscal authorities have positively altered the outlook of the subject in
question.

“In summary, the Guidelines must primarily be viewed as a record of policies, circulars and directives issued by the Bank up to the end of 2023.

“They are not new directives and should not be reported as such. The Bank will continue to provide clear monetary policy direction and advice for the overall good of the Economy.

“We urge all stakeholders to seek clarification of information about the Bank before publishing.”