Federal Government Mandates New VAT Charges For Electronic Banking Services

The Federal Government has directed all banks and fintechs to collect and remit 7.5 per cent value-added tax on certain electronic banking services, effective Monday, January 19th 2026.
The NRS, formerly known as the Federal Inland Revenue Service, has set the deadline to ensure that all commercial banks, microfinance banks, and electronic money operators comply with the collection and remittance requirement.
According to an email notice shared with customers, the charge, previously known as the EMTL, has now been formally reclassified as stamp duty and will be applied as a one-off fee on qualifying electronic transfers including mobile money transfers, USSD transaction fees, and card issuance fees, in a bid to standardize VAT collection on digital financial services.