Bank Charges in Nigeria: Quick Guide on Types and Uses

Bank Charges in Nigeria

Bank charges in Nigeria are a normal part of the banking system. If you visit a bank, you will be asked to pay for some kind of service or product.

These charges are part of the cost structure that banks must deal with as they try to turn a profit from their customers.

However, there are also other types of fees a bank may charge which aren’t necessarily related to its core business activities (e.g. warranty and error correction).

In this article, we’ll look at some popular types of bank charges and fees in Nigeria so that you can understand what your future likely costs may be

Bank charges and fees

Bank charges are fees that banks charge to their customers. They can be charged for different services and products, such as ATM withdrawals, bill payments, and cash deposits.

Bank charges are charged by all banks in Nigeria; however, there are some banks that do not charge any bank charges on their accounts. Some of these include:

  • Lenco
  • Kuda Microfinance Bank
  • VFD Microfinance Bank

Why do clients pay bank charges?

One of the reasons clients pay bank charges is to use their banks’ services. For example, if you want to open an account but don’t know what kind of account you need, a bank will help you with that. They might even give advice on which type of account would best suit your needs and needs as well as make recommendations on how they can best help ensure that all transactions are conducted smoothly and efficiently.

Another reason why people pay bank charges is that they want access to financial services such as managing funds or investing them in securities or other assets like stocks and bonds; this means having access not only makes sense but also saves money if done correctly!

A third reason why clients pay bank charges stems from running costs associated with running their own business (such as paying salaries) so there’s no need for these costs when using one service instead of another one!

Types of bank charges in Nigeria

1. Account maintenance fee

The bank account maintenance fee is charged by banks to customers who maintain accounts with them. This fee is generally charged monthly, quarterly, or annually and it depends on the type of account you have opened. Some banks may even charge their customers for maintaining multiple accounts in different banks at the same time.

Naira debit or credit cards linked to savings accounts attract a maximum of N50 quarterly maintenance fee while foreign currency-denominated debit/credit cards attract $10 from $20. So if you are using your current bank for more than one year then it’s better that you find another one where these charges will be less than what they charge now (if any).

Switch to Lenco today!

2. Account closing fee

Account closing fees are charged by banks when clients close their accounts. This fee is to cover the cost of closing your current bank account, and they’re not charged to all customers.

The purpose of this fee is to discourage you from closing your account prematurely–the bank wants you to stay loyal and continue using their services.

3. Account opening fee

The account opening fee is the fee charged by banks to open an account. The account opening fee is usually paid at the time of opening the new account, but it can also be waived if you have a relationship with your current bank and have used their services for some time.

4. Account dormancy fee

The account dormancy fee is charged when a client fails to use an account for a period of time. This can be either because they have fallen out of love with their bank or because they need some time away before returning to their accounts.

The banks are in most cases required by law (the Banking Act) to charge such fees, but there’s no set amount that you must pay.

5. ATM card annual/re-issuance fee

  • ATM cards are usually issued at a #500-#1000 charge and can be paid in cash or online.
  • The cardholder may withdraw money from any branch that accepts MasterCard and VISA debit cards or credit cards with the same logo and name as your ATM card.

6. ATM withdrawal fee

ATM withdrawal fee is a fee charged by banks for withdrawing money from an ATM. Withdrawals on other banks’ ATMs have been reduced from N65 to N35 after the third withdrawal within the same month.

While this may seem like an inconvenience, it’s important to know that many people are unaware that their bank charges such fees until they actually try to withdraw money at one of these machines.

7. Cheque book request fee (non-customers)

The cheque book request fee (non-customers) is charged to non-customers who request cheque books from their bank. With the new N200 charge per leaflet for counter cheques, a fifty-leaflet cheque book, which is the minimum issued in Nigeria, will cost N10,000.

8. Cheque book issuance/re-issuance fee (customer)

The cheque book issuance/re-issuance fee is the fee you pay when your bank issues a new cheque book to you. The fee is usually payable on a per-leaflet basis, with each leaflet costing approximately N200.

9. Point of Sale (POS) Merchant Service Fees

Point of Sale (POS) merchant service fees are the fees that you pay to your bank for using the POS terminal. The fees are usually paid by merchants, who then pass them on to their customers as part of their prices. A fee of #100 is attached to withdrawals up to #10,000. The more money you withdraw, the more the charges.

10. Electronic transfer fee

The electronic transfer fee is the fee you pay for transferring money from one bank account to another via the internet. The fee varies depending on how much money you want to transfer and which bank will be receiving it.

Electronic funds transfer has also been reviewed downwards to N10 charge for a transaction below N5000; N26 for transactions of N5001 to N50,000 while transactions above N50,000 will be charged N50.

Also Read: 10 Practical Ways to Avoid Unnecessary Bank Charges In Your Business Account

There are a lot of different types of bank charges in Nigeria

Bank charges are taxes that you pay to a bank. They are not the same as interest rates or exchange rates, which are charged by financial institutions to reward their customers for using their money. In Nigeria, most banks have lower charges than what it costs them to provide the service.

The Nigerian banking system is regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The CBN sets maximum charges for banks to charge customers, and it monitors how much banks charge their customers. This means that you don’t have to worry about getting charged more than the legal amount—unless you choose your bank based on how low its charges are instead of other factors like reputation or convenience.

Conclusion

The type of bank charges and fees you will encounter in Nigeria is very different from those in other countries. Because of the various types of banks that operate here, there can be many different fees for different banking services.

This fact makes it difficult for foreign customers who want to transfer money abroad or use financial services such as foreign exchange trading or investment, because they may not know what types of fees they will be charged by Nigerian banks.

In order to avoid being confused when traveling through Nigeria, we recommend that people should go into their local branches with a list of questions about how much money they will need before going through airport security checkpoints or during other international travel periods.