Bank transfers in Nigeria will cost more from 2026 Check Why

From January 2026, sending ₦50,000 ($34.14) through your bank app could cost you ₦100 in transfer fees.

From EMTL to Stamp Duty

Five years after Nigeria replaced stamp duty with the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), the government now reintroduces stamp duties. New budget documents show that this shift will change how everyday transfers work.

In 2020, the government introduced EMTL and imposed a flat, one-off ₦50 charge on electronic transfers of ₦10,000 ($6.83) and above. Receivers paid the fee as part of the government’s push to diversify revenue away from oil and tap into Nigeria’s booming e-payments market, which reached ₦1 quadrillion in 2024.

Nigeria Tax Act 2025 Expands Stamp Duty

The Nigeria Tax Act 2025 renames EMTL as stamp duty and expands its scope. The law now includes duties on chargeable instruments such as tax stamps, electronic tagging, electronic receipts, and certificate issuance.

The Nigerian government wrote in a budget document: “We will enforce compliance with approved regulations governing stamp duties to ensure full collections over the medium term.”

Transfer Costs Shift to Senders

Starting in 2026, senders will pay the ₦50 charge instead of receivers. This change turns stamp duty into an additional cost layered on top of existing transfer fees.

By shifting the burden, the government makes what was once an invisible deduction on received funds a visible, repeated expense on every transfer. This adjustment reshapes consumer behavior, fintech pricing models, and the government’s long-term reliance on electronic payments as a dependable revenue stream.

How It Affects Transfers

Today, most bank customers already pay transfer fees:

₦10 for transfers below ₦5,000

₦25 for transfers between ₦5,001 and ₦50,000

₦50 for transfers above ₦50,000

From 2026, sending ₦10,000 or more will cost between ₦75 and ₦100 per transfer, depending on the amount. While receivers keep the full amount, senders bear higher costs.

Businesses no longer need to pass on an extra ₦50 deduction to customers. PoS agents, who often include every possible charge in withdrawal fees, also eliminate the ₦50 deduction on transfers above ₦10,000.

This change increases the burden on transaction initiators, unlike before when both senders and receivers shared the cost.

Fintechs such as OPay and PalmPay, which grew by offering cheap or free transfers, now face challenges. Transactions above ₦10,000 will carry extra costs for senders. Nigerians adopted digital payments because they were fast, simple, and affordable. Each new fee chips away at that advantage.

Revenue Growth and Projections

EMTL already serves as a growing source of government revenue. In 2024, it generated ₦219.11 billion ($149.61 million), surpassing its ₦174.24 billion ($118.98 million) projection. Between January and July 2025, the levy earned ₦211.75 billion ($144.59 million), achieving over 92% of its ₦228.85 billion ($156.27 million) full-year target.

The government drove this growth by extending the levy to fintech platforms such as OPay, PalmPay, and Moniepoint. Initially, EMTL applied only to banks, but since December 2024, fintech transactions have fallen fully under the levy.

With the expanded stamp duty regime, the government projects ₦456.07 billion ($311.42 million) in revenue for 2026, ₦579.82 billion ($395.92 million) in 2027, and ₦752.45 billion ($513.79 million) in 2028. These figures form part of medium-term budget planning, making stamp duty a key pillar of fiscal certainty.

Revenue Sharing Adjustments

Under EMTL, the federal government took 15%, states received 50%, and local governments collected 35%. The new tax law reduces the federal share to 10% while states increase their share to 55%.

Replacing EMTL with stamp duty forms part of a broader package of tax reforms that will take effect in January 2026. The government explained: “We enacted the new tax laws to improve tax collection and grow non-oil revenue.”

The Bigger Picture

Although the extra ₦50 may seem insignificant in isolation, millions of daily transfers multiply it into hundreds of billions for the government. At the same time, the fee steadily erodes affordability for Nigerians who rely on digital payments to move money quickly and cheaply.

Exchange rate used: ₦1,464.5/$