Data from the Federation Account Allocation Committee's communique for January to June 2023 reveals that electronic transfer levies have contributed N80.86 billion to the revenue of the three tiers of government. This significant amount follows a surge in electronic transfers recorded in the country recently.

Introduced as a revenue source through the Finance Act 2020, which amended the Stamp Duty Act, the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) capitalizes on the growth of electronic funds transfer in Nigeria. The levy charges a one-off fee of N50 on electronic receipts or transfers of money deposited in any deposit money bank or financial institution on sums of N10,000 or more.

Since its introduction, the EMTL has proven to be a reliable source of income for the government. The revenue generated for the first six months includes N13.8 billion in January, N11.65 billion in February, N14.49 billion in March, N15.12 billion in April, N14.37 billion in May, and N11.44 billion in June.

The government is on track to exceed its projected N137.03 billion earnings from EMTL in 2023, as stated in the 2023 - 2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper by the Budget Office of the Federation. Projections for subsequent years include N157.59 billion in 2024 and N189.11 billion in 2025.

“The Main Pool, VAT Pool, and Electronic Money Transfer Levy are projected at N4.89tn, N2.74tn, and N136.35bn, respectively, in 2023,” it said.

The office added that the government's earnings from EMTL reached N111.84 billion in 2021, showcasing the increasing adoption of e-payment transactions, especially in light of the pandemic's impact since 2020.

According to data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System portal, the total value of electronic transactions rose from N108.42 trillion in 2019 to N162.89 trillion in 2020 and further surged to N278.38 trillion in 2021. By 2022, cashless transactions escalated to N395.47 trillion.

The International Monetary Fund highlighted that mobile money transactions in Nigeria accounted for 9.72 percent of the Gross Domestic Product in 2020, a significant growth attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.