More Nigerians Shun ePayment Channels Over Stamp Duty Payment On Transactions

More Nigerians are now shunning transactions via Point of Sales (PoS) terminals; owing to the implementation of a ₦50 additional charge by merchants, as imposed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in collaboration with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS).

The CBN described the new service levy as Stamp Duty Charge.
Investigations (by the Guardian) showed that customers now avoid ePayment platforms in preference for cash deals, thereby throwing a big spanner in the financial inclusion and cashless policy policies of the regulatory bank.
Customers, who had hitherto loud CBN’s decision to infuse the policy, saying it would eliminate the risk of carrying cash and reduce the cost of printing Naira notes, have criticised the move to collect stamp duty charges on PoS transactions.
It must also be mentioned that other payment channels, including automated teller machines (ATMs), Instant Transfers, Online Banking, and Mobile Banking are still seriously challenged. Already, financial transactions are replete with all manners of excess charges by the banks and merchants, even when services are not delivered as and when due.
According to the CBN 2017 to 2019 Banking Guide, Nigerians, especially bank customers are made to face several charges by the financial institutions. These include N52.50 monthly card maintenance fee; N65 after third withdrawal in ATM interbank fees. Most times, banks remove the N65 at the first and subsequent withdrawals.
The banks still deduct N4 for SMS alerts, including unsolicited ones for birthday wishes, national and international day celebrations and operational updates. There is also N52 deduction for electronic transfer service.
Banks also collect as much as N4,000 as fee for hardware token and N4 for one-time pin (OTP) SMS charge as well as N20 per page of a Statement of Account, among others.
While all these are imposed, then comes the N50 Stamp Duty Charge on Nigerians, who use the PoS terminals.
According to customers, the new N50 charge, which has been implemented by many fuel stations and supermarkets in Lagos, has become a burden and a source of worry to them and merchants as well.
A visit to Ikeja shopping mall in Lagos showed that more customers made cash payments instead of transactions via PoS terminals.
The same situation played out at Hubmart, also at Ikeja. One of the officials, who preferred anonymity, said: “most people today (Tuesday) made payments via cash. They said they can’t part with additional ₦50 charge.”
Also, some petrol stations, especially the independent marketers, pasted a notice on the ₦50 additional charge on their walls for customers to see.
An attendant at Petrocam, Oke -Afa, Lagos, who simply gave his name as Adetunji, said:” most people that have visited our station today to refill their tanks opted to pay with cash, even those that have been using cards before now. Some because of the ₦50 charge refused to refill their tanks.”
Indeed, while the interaction with Adetunji was on-going, a customer, Chinedu Okeke, entered to refill his tank via PoS, but immediately he saw the ₦50 notice, he opted to do cash. “I would rather pay with cash than pay N50 for a service that should be free of charge. What has this CBN or government done for the masses that they will impose this charge on us? The welfare of common citizens was not put into consideration while taking this devilish decision.”
Another customer said after paying the ₦50 charge at Oando fuel station, Berger, Lagos reiterates that the process would only sabotage the cashless policy drive by CBN, as many customers would prefer paying with cash to evade the stamp duty levy.
According to the entrepreneur who identified herself as Adamma Nwachukwu, the apex bank is already frustrating its own policy cashless economy and financial inclusion through the N50 charge, saying: “it should be abolished forthwith as Nigerians already over-burdened with too many taxes, levies and charges without corresponding value for money.”
Confirming the drop in PoS transactions the Managing Director, ITEX Integrated Services, a CBN licensed Super-Agent, Ernest Uduje, while commending the apex bank in the drive to improve financial inclusion in the country, insisted that “this ₦50 charge is ill-timed.”
According to him, transactions through PoS have dropped within the last few weeks.
“In a nutshell, I think it is affecting transactions negatively, because now most businesses like filling stations, if you go there now, they will show you their prices, and they will say they will charge you ₦50 extra. Then, in some places they will tell you go and bring cash, they are not interested because they don’t know other charges that will follow.