Banks begin charging 16% VAT on digital payment processing fees
Regulation · in progressThursday 29 October 2026
Banks and fintechs are applying 16 percent VAT to fees for payment processing, card settlement and payment gateway services under the Finance Act 2026. The change alters the tax treatment of services used to move money.
The tax change raises costs for merchant payment services and could affect fee pricing across banks and payment providers.
MTN Ghana and its separately incorporated Mobile Money Fintech Limited posted a combined profit after tax of about $670 million (GH₵7.75bn) for the nine months to September 2026, up 43 percent. The results cover the telco and its mobile money business, which became a separate company in March 2026.
Zenith Bank reported a nine-month profit before tax of about $690 million (N929bn), up 1.24 percent from the same period of 2025. Gross earnings fell 15 percent to about $2.1 billion (N2.87trn), while impairment charges dropped sharply.
The African Development Bank launched a HKD 2 billion five-year social bond due November 2031. The issue is a social bond placed in Hong Kong's market.
Nigeria-focused fintech OPay sold 16 million American depositary shares at $19 each, raising $300 million and valuing the company at about $4 billion. It rang the NYSE opening bell, but ThisDay reports that trading was temporarily held over an outstanding regulatory clarification in a foreign jurisdiction.
Afreximbank is raising a $1 billion syndicated loan that includes a tranche denominated in yuan, according to a paywalled report. The deal diversifies the bank's funding sources beyond dollar and euro markets.
