The Federal Government\u2019s aggressive push to tax digital transactions has yielded a massive windfall, with revenue from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) more than doubling in just ten months, shrugging off earlier warnings from economists that the move would cripple the fintech sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe percentage increases were significant across the entire period, pointing to a sustained rise in taxable transfer volumes,\u201d the data analysis revealed. Between January and October 2025, the government raked in N360.29 billion\u2014a stark contrast to the N170.92 billion collected during the same period last year. The crackdown, which began in earnest last December, forced platforms like Moniepoint and OPay to start deducting N50 on transfers, a move critics at the time labeled a “tax on poverty”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The surge follows a directive from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) mandating that all financial institutions, including previously grey-area fintechs, automatically deduct N50 on electronic transfers of N10,000 or above. While September 2025 saw the single strongest jump\u2014skyrocketing 180% to N53.84 billion\u2014the policy faced fierce pushback when first introduced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Former Chief Economist at Zenith Bank, Marcel Okeke, had previously cautioned that the levy was \u201cill-timed\u201d and could lead to the \u201cdemonetisation\u201d of the economy by discouraging digital use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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