The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has increased the fee for issuance or replacement of debit and credit cards from N1,000 to N1,500, as part of a revised guide to bank charges for financial institutions.
In a circular released on Thursday and titled “Guide to Charges by Banks and Other Financial Institutions”, the apex bank said the new fee would take effect from May 1 and applies to standard ATM cards issued by banks and other regulated institutions nationwide.
The CBN also announced the removal of maintenance charges on naira-denominated debit and credit cards, adding that virtual cards would remain free.
The regulator said the revised framework replaces the previous guidelines issued in January 2020 and applies to all financial institutions under its supervision, including commercial banks, microfinance banks, payment service banks and mobile money operators.
According to the bank, the new guide was developed after consultations with stakeholders to strengthen transparency and standardisation of charges across the financial system.
“The Guide aims to enhance flexibility, standardisation, transparency and competition in the Nigerian financial system,” the CBN stated.
The apex bank added that point-of-sale (POS) payments made by customers to merchants would remain free, noting that merchants, not customers, are responsible for paying the merchant service charge.
It said the merchant service charge payable by businesses would be 0.5 per cent of the transaction value, subject to a maximum of N10,000, regardless of the payment method used.
On transaction notifications, the CBN said customers might still be charged for mandatory SMS alerts on customer-initiated transactions, but only on a cost-recovery basis, while email alerts must be provided at no cost.
The regulator also retained provisions on account maintenance charges for current accounts, noting that such fees remain negotiable but subject to a capped rate, with a phased reduction already outlined.
