The Federal Government of Nigeria has projected a revenue of N230 billion on the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) in 2025. The 2025-2027 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) also estimated EMTL revenue for 2026 and 2027 at N265 billion and N305 billion respectively. In total, the government estimates to have received a total of N800 billion in e-levy revenue.
Recall that on Sunday, the Nigerian government commenced the N50 e-levy charge on transactions above N10,000 made by customers of Opay, Moniepoint, and other fintech users. The EMTL deducts a one-off levy on account of any receipt or transfer above N10,000 by customers of fintech companies such as Opay, Palmpay, Moniepoint, and others.
Before this development, commercial banks had N50 EMTL levy on behalf of the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) on every transaction from N10,000 and above.
The (MTEF/FSP), which is a document that provides details of the historical performance of budget forecasts and estimates of government revenues and expenditures stated that Nigerian bank customers paid a total of N133.89 billion as levy between January and August 2024. This represents a 76.5 per cent of the N175.11 billion forecasted for the entire year.
In addition, it also revealed that N169.43 billion was released from the e-levy in 2023 while N136.35 billion was projected.
The paper also shows that the 2024 retained revenue for the same period was N9.83 trillion, while N12.84 trillion was recorded for last year. However, the total revenue for 2025 was estimated at N34.82 trillion, 34.6 per cent more than the 2024 projected revenue.
Meanwhile, the government recorded N530.41 billion in Value-Added Tax (VAT) for the first 8 months of the year. This was also an 89.8 per cent increase from the previous year. VAT constitutes a consumption tax that is levied on the value added to goods and services at each stage of production and distribution.
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Nigeria government seeks more revenue on EMTL in 2025
With a N230 billion revenue projection on ETML for 2025, the Federal Government of Nigeria targets more revenue from the e-levy. The introduction of the levy on fintech users might help the government in achieving its aim.
The EMTL is a one-time N50 e-levy charge on transactions above N10,000. It applies to all electronic transfers of funds in a Nigerian-licensed bank or financial institution. The EMTL levy, previously applicable only to commercial banks, has now extended to fintech companies which has now ended the era of free banking services that many of these platforms offered.
The introduction of the EMTL levy under the Finance Act 2020 was announced to be implemented by September 9, 2024. In a notice sent to its users on September 7, it was then that Opay first emphasized that the levy was imposed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) with no benefit to the company.
“Please be informed that starting September 9, 2024, a one-time of N50 will be applied to electronic transfers of N10,000 and above paid into your personal or business account in compliance with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) regulations. 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,” the company expressed.
But due to reasons not explained, the development did not take effect. In a new development, fintech companies, Opay, Moniepoint, Palmpay, and others notified their customers that the commencement of the N50 EMTL deduction will kick start from December 1, 2024.
In a statement sent to its customers on Saturday, Moniepoint expressed that it has started the EMTL N50 charges. It then pointed out that the levy would be remitted to the FIRS.
“Dear customer, you will be charged stamp duty of N%) on inflows of N10,000 and above. Moniepoint collects and remits this on behalf and to FIRS,” Moniepoint says.
Opay, one of the most used fintech, also sent a message to its users across its app on Saturday. The company explained that the electronic levy deduction begins on December 1, 2024. “Dear Customer, in line with the FIRS, the EMTL applies starting from December 1st, 2024,” the message reads.
Read More: Federal Government commences N50 e-levy tax on Opay, Palmpay, Moniepoint user.