CBN Draft Guide Cuts Fees on Small Bank Transfers

In Short

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has proposed new bank transfer charges that make transfers below ₦5,000 free, set a ₦10 fee for ₦5,000 to ₦50,000, and keep a ₦50 cap above ₦50,000 in Nigeria.

What Happened

CBN published a draft “Guide to Charges” for banks and other financial institutions. It changes what customers pay for inter-bank transfers, which are transfers that move money between different banks.

Under the draft, transfers below ₦5,000 will attract no fee. Transfers between ₦5,000 and ₦50,000 will cost ₦10.

For transfers above ₦50,000, fees remain capped at ₦50. A cap is a maximum fee, which means banks can charge less but not more.

The regulator’s stated goal is to reduce the cost of cashless payments. Cashless payments are digital transactions like mobile banking and USSD transfers, instead of paying with notes and coins.

CBN also wants to reduce charges on “mid-tier” payments. In practice, that means compressing the price gap between small transfers and mid-sized transfers.

Why It Matters

Nigeria’s digital payments market runs on frequent, low-value transfers. Many consumers and small businesses move money in small amounts to manage working capital and inventory.

If banks implement the draft as written, more transactions will become cheaper or free. That could increase electronic transfer volumes, especially for traders and salary earners who send money several times a week.

Fintech apps that build on bank transfer rails may also see higher usage, but they will need to adjust pricing and margins if they currently bundle transfer fees into their own charges.

For operators, the key question is enforcement and rollout. A draft guide can still change, and banks may update their fee tables at different speeds once final rules are issued.