Nigerians to stop paying five common bank charges from January 2026 — Oyedele

Abolition of Five Bank Charges. 17th November, 2025

From January 1, 2026, five common banking fees in Nigeria will0 be removed as part of the new tax reform. 

The reforms are part of a broader tax law overhaul signed into law on 26 June 2025. 

The Five Charges Being Scrapped

According to Oyedele, the charges that will be eliminated are:

Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL): The ₦50 tax on electronic transfers (for a certain range) will be removed. 

Stamp Duty on Salary Payments: No more stamp duty on salary-related bank transfers. 

Stamp Duty on Government Securities / Share Transfers: Transfers of government bonds or shares will not attract stamp duty. 

Stamp Duty on Documents for Stock / Share Transfers: Documents used in share transfers will also be exempt from stamp duty. 

Intra-Bank Transfers: Transfers between accounts in the same bank (self-transfers) will no longer have the ₦50 fee. 

The move is meant to reduce the cost of banking, especially for low-value digital payments, thereby encouraging more people to use digital banking. 

It’s also part of a push to improve financial inclusion by lowering transaction costs. 

For the capital markets: removing stamp duties on securities and shares makes investing cheaper, potentially attracting more retail investors. 

For businesses and payroll: removing stamp duty on salary payments relieves some burden on employers and employees. 

The changes come under a package of tax reform laws:

Nigeria Tax Act (NTA)

Nigeria Tax Administration Act (NTAA)

Nigeria Revenue Service Act (NRSA)

Joint Revenue Board Act (JRBA) 

Besides banking charge relief, the tax reform also introduces VAT exemptions or zero-rating for many basic goods and services (food items, rent, education, health, etc.). 

Small businesses with turnover under ₦100 million will also enjoy VAT relief. 

While these bank charges are being scrapped, not all fees are necessarily going away. These are specific charges listed by Oyedele. 

On a related matter, there has been concern about a 5% fuel surcharge, but Oyedele clarified that this surcharge will not automatically take effect on January 1, 2026. 

The fuel surcharge would require a commencement order by the Finance Minister; it's not automatic. 

Consumers: More affordable digital transactions, especially for low-value payments.

Workers: Less deduction from salaries (no stamp duty on salary transfers).

Investors: Investing in government securities or stocks becomes cheaper (no stamp duty on those transfers or related docs).

Businesses / SMEs: Lower transactional costs could improve cash flows; plus, the VAT relief helps.

Financial Inclusion: By making digital transfers cheaper, more Nigerians may adopt digital banking.

This is significant relief for ordinary Nigerians, particularly those who transact small amounts frequently (like daily payments, remittances, salary disbursements).

Eliminating the ₦50 electronic levy may encourage more usage of mobile banking / fintech.

Removing stamp duties on investments is smart it could help deepen Nigeria’s capital markets by making them more accessible.

However, it remains to be seen how banks will adjust, will they charge other fees to make up the lost revenue?

Implementation risk, even though the laws are passed, enforcing the removal and ensuring banks comply could be challenging. There might be transitional issues.

The communication to the public must be clear, otherwise people may assume all bank fees are going away, which is not the case.