The Central Bank of Nigeria has directed the strict implementation of Merchant Service Charge, which would impose more charges on all point of sale (PoS) transactions.
This is coming few days after the apex bank announced new charges on withdrawal and deposit of funds above N500,000.
The directive on the ‘Unbundling of Merchant Settlement Amounts’ was contained in the CBN circular to banks, processors and switches, titled: ‘Review of Process for Merchants Collections on Electronic Transactions’, The Nation reports.
According to the CBN, the new policy stipulates ‘Stamp Duties Payment’ on individual transactions that occur on PoS, rather than previous plans where charges occurred on aggregate transactions.
The circular signed by CBN Director, Payments System Management Department, Sam Okojere, authorised banks to unbundle merchant settlement amounts and charge applicable taxes and duties on individual transactions as stipulated by regulators.
The merchant service charge was also reviewed downward from 0.75 percent (capped at N1,200) to 0.50 percent (capped at N1,000).
The CBN and Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) are working closely, including setting emittance processes that ensure the stamp duty charges for PoS is collected.
