Moniepoint, other Fintechs, banks to charge 7.5% VAT on transfers, USSD transactions

Moniepoint, other Fintechs and commercial banks in Nigeria, on Wednesday, informed their customers of a new 7.5 percent Value Added Tax (VAT) to be applied to bank transfers and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) transactions.

A customer notice issued on Wednesday, said the VAT charge will take effect from January 19, following a directive from the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS).

The bank explained in the message that the development is part of a government-approved regulatory adjustment on VAT collection.

“From Monday, January 19, 2026, we are mandated to apply a 7.5 percent VAT, which will be remitted to the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), previously known as the Federal Inland Revenue Service,” the notice stated.

The bank clarified that the VAT charge is separate from existing fees such as the N50 stamp duty and other transaction-related charges currently borne by customers.

As of the time of filing this report, the NRS had not issued an official statement on the implementation of the VAT on banking transactions.

Recall the Executive Chairman of the NRS, Dr. Zacch Adedeji, on Tuesday dismissed reports suggesting that the Federal Government plans to tax or directly debit individual bank accounts.