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The short answer
Access Bank debits ₦50 stamp duty because, from 1 January 2026, the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 replaced the old Electronic Money Transfer Levy with a ₦50 stamp duty on electronic transfers of ₦10,000 or more, deducted from the sender rather than the receiver. Transfers below ₦10,000, salary payments and transfers between your own accounts at the same bank are reported as exempt, so a ₦50 debit on one of those is worth querying.
A ₦50 line on your Access Bank statement marked 'stamp duty' is not a bank fee. It is a tax the bank collects for the government. What changed in 2026 is who pays it and when. If you learnt the old rule, that the receiver paid ₦50 on credits of ₦10,000 and above, your statement may now look wrong when it is in fact correct, or correct when it is in fact wrong.
The rule since January 2026
Under the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) introduced in 2020, the ₦50 was deducted from the receiver of an electronic transfer of ₦10,000 or more. Techeconomy reported on 1 January 2026 that, effective that day, the EMTL was replaced by a flat ₦50 stamp duty under the Nigeria Tax Act 2025, and that it is now deducted from the sender's account. TechCabal reported the same shift in December 2025.
- Amount
- ₦50, flat, once per qualifying transfer
- Threshold
- Electronic transfers of ₦10,000 or more, or the foreign-currency equivalent
- Who pays
- The sender
- Not cumulative
- Several transfers each under ₦10,000 do not attract it, even if they add up to more
- Reported exemptions
- Transfers below ₦10,000; salary payments; transfers between your own accounts at the same bank
Those details come from a customer notice by another bank, as reported by Techeconomy. We could not open an Access Bank notice on the change, so check Access Bank's own communication or ask the contact centre if your case is borderline.
What a transfer costs you now
Stamp duty sits on top of the bank's transfer fee. Under the CBN's current fee bands as reported by TechCabal in April 2026, interbank electronic transfers cost ₦10 below ₦5,000, ₦25 from ₦5,000 to ₦50,000 and ₦50 above ₦50,000. A CBN draft guide dated 21 April 2026 proposes making transfers up to ₦5,000 free and charging ₦10 between ₦5,000 and ₦50,000; it was an exposure draft, so check Access Bank's current charge in the app.
| Example transfer to another bank | Bank fee (current bands) | Stamp duty | Total paid by sender |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₦8,000 | ₦25 | ₦0 (below ₦10,000) | ₦25 |
| ₦20,000 | ₦25 | ₦50 | ₦75 |
| ₦80,000 | ₦50 | ₦50 | ₦100 |
| ₦20,000 to your own other Access account | Check the app (the bands above cover interbank transfers) | ₦0 (own-account exemption reported) | Bank fee only, if any |
These are worked examples using the fee bands above; your bank may add VAT on its fee, which would appear as a separate line. Our guide to Access Bank transfer charges covers the fee side in detail.
Businesses and frequent senders
For a person making a few transfers a month, ₦50 is small. For a business paying many suppliers, it adds up, because it applies to each qualifying transfer. A shop paying 40 suppliers ₦25,000 each in a month would pay 40 × ₦50 = ₦2,000 in stamp duty on those payments alone, before any bank fees (example only). Salary payments are reported as exempt, so payroll runs should be labelled clearly as salaries. Consolidating several small payments to the same supplier into one larger transfer reduces bank fees, but not the stamp duty if each payment was already ₦10,000 or more.
Foreign-currency transfers
The reported rule covers transfers of ₦10,000 or the foreign-currency equivalent, so a dollar or pound transfer from a domiciliary account can also attract it. Ask the bank how it calculates the equivalent for your transfer.
Why you might see it as a receiver
Since the burden moved to the sender, a ₦50 stamp duty debit when you received money in 2026 needs explaining. Possible reasons include a delayed debit relating to a 2025 credit, a foreign-currency inflow treated differently, or a bank error. Ask the bank which transaction the debit relates to before you assume it is wrong.
How to query a charge you think is wrong
- Find the stamp duty line on your statement and the transaction just before it.
- Check the amount: was it below ₦10,000? Was it a salary credit or a transfer between your own accounts?
- Check for duplicates: one transfer should carry one ₦50, not two.
- Email ContactCenter@accessbankplc.com with the statement extract, the date and why you think it is exempt, and ask for a reference number.
- If unresolved after two weeks, escalate to the CBN Consumer Protection Department (cpd@cbn.gov.ng), as the CBN complaint guide describes; see how to complain about a bank.
Keep the bank's reply. If the bank agrees the debit was wrong, it should reverse the ₦50 to your account; if it says the debit was correct, ask it to name the rule that applied, so you can check the same type of transfer in future.
Where Pryme fits
The same tax rules apply to Pryme naira transfers. On Pryme, Send shows any charge on its own line before you approve, and you can download statements or verifiable receipts from VerifyDoc.ai to check each debit. See Send.
Questions people ask
Why is Access Bank deducting ₦50 stamp duty from my account?
Since 1 January 2026 a ₦50 stamp duty applies to electronic transfers of ₦10,000 or more and is deducted from the sender, replacing the old EMTL that the receiver paid.
Do I pay stamp duty on transfers below ₦10,000?
No. Reports of the 2026 rule list transfers below ₦10,000 as exempt, and the charge is not cumulative across several small transfers.
Is stamp duty charged when I transfer to my own account?
Transfers between your own accounts at the same bank are reported as exempt. Transfers to your own account at a different bank may not be; ask the bank.
Can I get a refund of wrong stamp duty from Access Bank?
If the debit applied to an exempt or duplicated transaction, email the contact centre with the statement lines and ask for a reversal and a reference number.
Sources
- Techeconomy: Stamp duty replaces EMTL, sender to bear ₦50 charge (1 Jan 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- TechCabal: Here is why bank transfers in Nigeria will cost more from 2026 (22 Dec 2025) · accessed Oct 2026
- TechCabal: Why bank transfers above ₦10,000 will cost ₦60 under CBN's new guide (Apr 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- CBN: How to Lodge a Complaint (24 Jan 2022) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.