January 05, (THEWILL) — The substantial increase in electronic payment transactions, driven by significant holiday expenditures and the expansion of fintech services, is expected to elevate stamp duty revenue to unprecedented heights in 2026. Recently, Nigeria’s digital banking and electronic payment services have experienced swift growth.
This growth is supported organically by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), which has been instrumental in providing the necessary infrastructure to advance the digital economy. NIBSS has introduced several innovations aimed at improving instant payment capabilities and enhancing interoperability among financial institutions.
Banking on this revolution, the fintech firms have advanced their services backed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) policy on financial inclusion strategy. According to The Bullion (a CBN publication) in its 3rd Quarter 2025 edition, the economy witnessed exponential growth of digital payments and financial technology services in recent times.
The report highlights that total e-payment transactions exceeded N256 billion (about $256 billion) during the period. This surge represents strong double-digit growth from 2024, fueled by widespread adoption of instant payments, mobile banking, USSD, and PoS channels.
The CBN emphasises that the growth stemmed from deliberate policy and technological reforms undertaken by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS). It noted that enforcement of cashless policies, and the expansion of merchant PoS networks to over three million devices have all contributed to this boom.
The report reveals that instant bank transfers now dominate the ecosystem, accounting for 68 percent of all e-payment transactions, followed by PoS payments, mobile money, and internet banking. This dominance underscores Nigeria’s preference for real-time, convenient, and reliable payment methods. Accordingly, the surge reflected in the just abolished Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), now Stamp Duty under the new tax law.
Data showed that the Federal Government received N360.29bn from EMTL between January and October 2025. The amount was more than double the N170.92bn generated in the same period of 2024, showing an increase of N189.36bn (110.8 per cent). The monthly figures showed that receipts were higher in every month of 2025 than in the corresponding month of 2024.
The percentage increases were significant across the entire period, pointing to a sustained rise in taxable transfer volumes. January 2025 recorded N21.40bn compared with N16.59bn in January 2024, a difference of N4.82bn (29 per cent).
February showed a much stronger movement. Collections more than doubled, rising from N15.79bn in 2024 to N36.64bn in 2025. March brought in N26.01bn against N15.37bn a year earlier. The increase of N10.64bn represented about 69.2 per cent growth.
In April, revenue climbed from N18.77bn in 2024 to N40.48bn in 2025. That N21.71bn rise translated to approximately 115.6 per cent. April was one of the first months where the increase more than doubled the previous year.
May continued the pattern. The N28.82bn collected in May 2025 exceeded the N15.78bn recorded in May 2024 by N13.04bn, representing an increase of about 82.7 per cent. In June, receipts rose from N16.35bn last year to N30.38bn this year. The N14.03bn difference was an 85.9 percent increase.
The July figures almost doubled year-on-year. The N39.17bn collected in July 2025 compared with N19.60bn in July 2024. August followed the same direction. It rose from N15.64bn in 2024 to N33.68bn in 2025, a difference of N18.04bn, equal to a 115.3 per cent increase.
September recorded the single strongest jump. The revenue grew from N19.21bn last year to N53.84bn in 2025. The N34.63bn increase represented a rise of 180.2 per cent. October also stayed near that peak. It generated N49.87bn in 2025 compared with N17.82bn in 2024. Although October was slightly lower than September, it remained one of the highest-earning months in the period.
This is in accordance with the Nigeria Tax Act (NTA) 2025, with N50 Stamp Duties charged on account when transfer of N10,000 or more to another beneficiary as mandated by the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) prescribed.
An earlier statement by PalmPay, a leading fintech, to its customers explained that the sender will be charged Stamp Duties and not the receiver.
It read: “In accordance with the Nigeria Tax Act (NTA) 2025, the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) has been renamed Stamp Duties effective January 1, 2026. N50 Stamp Duties will be charged on your account when you transfer N10,000 or more to another beneficiary as mandated by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
The sender will be charged Stamp Duties and not the receiver.
These Stamp Duty does not apply to transfers between your own PalmPay accounts where the names and BVN/NIN match. Please note that PalmPay does not benefit from this stamp duty. It is remitted directly to the Federal Government. The Stamp Duty replaces the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL).”
Findings by THEWILL showed that the majority of Nigeria’s rural areas are booming with digital banking and e-payment services against the frustrations of the earlier years. Most of the rural communities witnessed idle bank ATM terminals, yet businesses boomed on active, reliable digital payment transactions during the last festive holiday.
Petrol stations, public transport operators (like the bus, motor-cycle and tricycle), petty traders, market women who sell soup ingredients, among others embraced digital payments. Roadside mechanics, vulcanizers, itinerant hawkers and car wash operators accepted e-payment through transfer or PoS.
One fact emerged from the scenario. While the initial motivation for PoS business was the lack of bank ATMs in some areas, this has shifted to the lack of cash in available ATMs and the need to make cash available to people became the priority of the emerging fintechs.
However, notwithstanding the boom, the fintech firms are not relenting in their push for aggressive penetration into the countryside resulting in what observers now refer to as angry fintechs on rampage. Amid the determination to put Nigeria on a global spotlight, NBISS recently emerged the only Africa’s payment system to achieve matured inclusivity level.
This was announced at the launch of the State of Instant Payment Systems (SIIPS) 2025 report in Eswatini (Southern Africa), on Thursday, November 13, 2025, with Nigeria receiving a standing ovation from bankers, investors, and other participants in the hall.
The 2025 report, produced by the AfricaNenda Foundation in partnership with the Central Bank of Eswatini (CBE), the World Bank, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), assesses the state of payment systems on the continent. It highlights the latest developments in the instant retail payment systems (IPS) ecosystem across Africa and evaluates how inclusive these systems are in terms of functionality and governance.
“The Federal Government is set for a massive revenue haul through the Stamp Duty rule as the new Tax Laws come into effect in January 2026. The rapid expansion of fintechs and the unrelenting efforts by NIBSS in transforming the digital financial services will mark a remarkable game-changer in the nation’s fiscal policy space,” said Dr Adesina Kolawole, a financial analyst.
Sam Diala is a Bloomberg Certified Financial Journalist with over a decade of experience in reporting Business and Economy. He is Business Editor at THEWILL Newspaper, and believes that work, not wishes, creates wealth.
