The Federal Government of Nigeria has commenced 50-naira electronic levy deductions from transactions of 10,000 naira and above made by users of financial technology, Fintech, companies, including Opay, Moniepoint, Kuda, and others.
The levy, called Electronic Money Transfer Levy, EMTL, introduced under the Finance Act 2020, places a singular and one-off levy of 50-naira on the recipient of any electronic receipt or transfer of 10,000 naira or above, and was earlier to take effect from September 9.
The introduction of the EMTL was, however, met with opposition from Nigerians, with various groups including the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS calling on the federal government to reverse its position on the implementation of the levy.
Meanwhile, in a notice sent to customers earlier in September, Opay explained that the levy was imposed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, stating however that it did not benefit from it.
In a recent development, the fintech companies have again notified their customers that the implementation of the 50-naira EMTL deduction has commenced from December 1, 2024.
Opay, in a message sent to its users on Saturday, also shared via its app, explained that the electronic levy deduction begins on December 1.
Likewise, Moniepoint in a notice sent to its customers on Saturday, explained that it has commenced implementation of the EMTL charges, clarifying however that the levy will be remitted to the FIRS.
Meanwhile, it was also gathered that the EMTL implementation has officially taken effect with Fintechs already deducting 50-naira for the federal government on transactions of 10,000 naira and above.
