The Central Bank of Nigeria has removed card maintenance fees on naira‑denominated debit and credit cards, a change that takes effect on May 1 and will leave merchants carrying a new portion of transaction costs.
Under the revised guide to bank charges, the fee for issuance or replacement of debit and credit cards rises from N1,000 to N1,500, while virtual cards will remain free. Point‑of‑sale payments made by customers to merchants will continue to be free at the point of payment; instead the merchant service charge will be borne by the merchant and set at 0.5 percent of the transaction value, subject to a maximum of N10,000.
The package of changes is mandatory for every financial institution regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria — including commercial banks, microfinance banks, payment service banks and mobile money operators — and becomes the binding guide to fees from May 1. The CBN said, "The Guide aims to enhance flexibility, standardisation, transparency and competition in the Nigerian financial system".
The revised schedule also tightens everyday charges for account holders: transfers of N5,000 and below will remain free; transfers between N5,000 and N50,000 will attract a N10 fee; transfers above N50,000 will cost N50. Customers withdrawing from another bank’s ATM will pay N100 per N20,000 withdrawn at on‑site locations, while off‑site ATMs may incur an additional surcharge of up to N500 per transaction.
The CBN left room for some recoverable service costs: mandatory SMS alerts on customer‑initiated transactions may still be charged on a cost‑recovery basis, but email alerts must be provided at no cost. Account reactivation and certain routine account services are to remain free. The regulator also reaffirmed that "In line with the provisions of the extant Consumer Protection Regulations, financial institutions shall apply non-credit related charges on an account only to the extent of the balance in the account and defer any outstanding charge until the account is funded."
Savings for retail customers are phased: account maintenance charges for current accounts remain negotiable but will be capped. The guide limits current account maintenance fees to N0.5 per mille in 2026 and schedules a reduction to zero by 2027. The CBN added that "Where a charge is stipulated as ‘negotiable’, financial institutions are required to draw the attention of customers to their rights to negotiate at the beginning of the transactions and subsequently, if the need arises."
The new framework is an update of the previous guide issued in January 2020 and brings one notable shift: the cost of card issuance has risen even as the routine bank fee for holding naira cards is removed. The regulator also tightened oversight: any new fee, product or service not listed in the guide must receive prior written approval from the CBN.
That trade‑off — scrapping a visible, recurring charge for cardholders while increasing some transaction and issuance costs elsewhere — is where the tension in the reform sits. Consumers who disliked standing card maintenance charges will see immediate relief. But merchants now face a 0.5 percent merchant service charge on card receipts, and businesses that rely heavily on card volumes will be watching how quickly banks and payment processors implement the shift and whether off‑site ATM surcharges and the N1,500 card issuance fee change overall household cash costs.
The regulator signaled an intent to protect low‑value digital transfers and account holders with limited balances, while pushing payment costs into the commercial relationship between merchants and their acquirers. The move will be tested in the marketplace fast: how banks price negotiable current account fees, how many suppliers of point‑of‑sale services absorb or pass on the 0.5 percent merchant service charge, and whether the promised consumer protections — from deferred application of non‑credit charges to free email alerts — are observed in practice.
For now the CBN has written the rulebook and set the clock. The single, consequential unanswered question is whether merchants will absorb the 0.5 percent merchant service charge or pass the cost back to consumers at the till.
Round Time News has reported earlier on the regulator's fee cap and shifts in who pays for card transactions: Cbn Caps Bank Fees: CBN raises ATM issuance to N1,500 and shifts MSC to merchants —
