Dr. Rita Sike signed a Central Bank of Nigeria circular on April 21, 2026, raising the fee for issuance and replacement of regular ATM debit and credit cards to N1,500 from N1,000 and making a series of other fee changes that take effect May 1, 2026.
The Exposure Draft of the Guide to Charges by Banks and Other Financial Institutions in Nigeria, 2026 increases the ATM card issuance and replacement charge by 50 percent — "ATM card Issuance/Replacement charges for regular/basic debit/credit card is N1, 500," the CBN said — while scrapping the N50 monthly charge for Naira debit and credit card maintenance. The bank said customers who hold cards denominated in foreign currency will still pay a maintenance fee of $10 per annum.
The circular spells out who will pay what at the point of sale. "All card transactions done by cardholders at a merchant location shall be free of charge to the cardholder, i.e. the MSC shall be borne by the merchant," the CBN wrote. It set the merchant service charge at 0.5 percent, "subject to a cap of N10,000," and reiterated that "the MSC payable by a merchant (0.5 percent) subject to a cap of N10,000 shall be the same irrespective of the technology or payment methods." The guide also notes that "Charges for Premium Debit/Credit/Hybrid Card are negotiable Virtual cards at no charge."
The CBN framed the revisions as an update to the 2020 guide issued six years earlier. The bank said the review was intended "to promote a safe and sound financial system in Nigeria, accelerate the adoption of innovative financial services, financial inclusion and micropayments or transaction," and to provide for "an increased range of financial services and encourages development of innovative products." The Exposure Draft replaces the 2020 Guide to Charges by Banks and Other Financial Institutions.
The revised guide carries administrative changes as well. It requires banks and other financial institutions to submit monthly reports on failed electronic transactions across ATM, PoS, mobile, web and other channels, an addition the CBN says will help monitor and improve payment-system resilience.
The package rearranges costs: it raises a one-off issuance fee while removing a small recurring maintenance charge, and shifts the direct point-of-sale cost from the cardholder to the merchant. The effect is straightforward on paper — cardholders will not be charged at merchant terminals — but the redistribution of fees introduces a real trade-off between encouraging card use and shifting transaction costs onto businesses that accept them.
That tension sits at the center of the new guide. The CBN says the MSC "shall be borne by the merchant," and caps that charge to limit exposure; whether the cap and the 0.5 percent rate will be enough to preserve low-cost acceptance for smaller merchants is the open question the guide leaves in plain view.
The changes take effect May 1, 2026. Banks, fintechs and other financial institutions now have to align their pricing and reporting to the Exposure Draft, and to incorporate the negotiable treatment for premium and hybrid cards alongside the free virtual-card option the CBN described. The CBN said these measures aim to accelerate adoption of digital payments and broaden financial inclusion after the 2020 framework.
The single unanswered question is simple and consequential: will the move that some describe as cbn caps bank fees actually speed the adoption of innovative payment services, or will it shift enough cost onto merchants to slow acceptance at the point of sale? The guide sets the parameters — the market will supply the answer.
