Nigerian banks will start charging a N50 stamp duty on electronic transfers of N10,000 and above from January 1, 2026, following the implementation of the Tax Act.
This single, one-off charge, previously known as the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), will now be referred to as stamp duty across all financial institutions.
According to United Bank for Africa (UBA), salary payments and intra-bank self-transfers are exempted from this duty.
The sender now bears the stamp duty charge, which was previously deducted from the beneficiary or receiver.
“Please note the following: Stamp Duty applies to transactions of N10,000 and above (or the equivalent in other currencies),” the email reads. Salary payments and Intra-bank self-transfers are exempt from stamp duty.
“The Sender now bears the Stamp Duty charge. Previously, this charge was deducted from the Beneficiary/ Receiver”, the statement said.
However, this move aligns with Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) regulations and applies to electronic transfers into personal and business accounts.