Follow the Money (Wrapped): Tax laws, ATMs’ return, and where money went in 2025

In 2025, TechCabal published about 21 editions of Follow the Money, tracking how Nigerians earned, spent, saved, and lost money in a year shaped by policy shifts, fintech power plays, and tightening government oversight.

We followed what banks spent on, how tax laws evolved, how Jumia adjusted its revenue strategy, and how individuals and companies adapted to a rapidly changing financial system. At its core, the column asked a simple question: What does spending reveal about individual and institutional priorities?

In a capitalist world, money is the single most important indicator of what a company’s or a person’s interests are. Follow its movement, and you can predict the health of a company, the direction of a policy, or the future of the economy. In 2025, we tracked how Nigerians interacted with their money amid new rules, faster payments, and shifting incentives.

Each story in the column has pointed to where and how money will flow in 2026, and these are some of them to keep in mind as we enter the new year: 

Remote workers will now pay taxes

Nigeria signed sweeping tax reforms in 2025, and from January 2026, remote workers and freelancers will officially fall within the tax net.

Under the new law, personal income tax will apply to Nigerians earning income locally or abroad, regardless of where the money is paid. Salaries will be taxed at a maximum rate of 25%, lower than in South Africa (45%), Kenya (35%), Egypt (27.5%), and Algeria (35%).

The law, signed in June 2025, aims to raise Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio to 18% by 2027 from under 10%. It also clarifies that income earned abroad by Nigerian residents is taxable in Nigeria, even if the income is not remitted.

Also, a Nigerian’s salary is taxable when they work abroad in a country that exempts their salary from tax under an agreement or diplomatic arrangement to which Nigeria is a party. 

Freelancers must now register with tax authorities. Failure to do so attracts a ₦50,000 ($34.64) fine in the first month and ₦25,000 ($17.32) for every additional month. Failure to file returns attracts a ₦100,000 ($69.28) fine in the first month and ₦50,000 ($34.64)  for each month after. False declarations could result in fines of up to ₦1 million ($692.82) or three years in prison, or both.

Come 2026, Nigerians working for foreign companies will no longer fly under the radar.

Crypto earnings are no longer tax-free

Crypto profits will also face taxation from 2026.

“The new law that will take effect in January 2026 will tax you if you make gains on crypto and totally ignore you when you make losses,” Taiwo Oyedele, chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, told TechCabal in October. “It is not a crime to invest in crypto. If your net gain is small, below the threshold (₦800,000), your tax is 0%.”

Between July 2024 and June 2025, Nigerians transacted $92.1 billion (₦132.94 trillion) in crypto, making the country one of the world’s most active crypto markets. The new rules aim to bring structure to an economy the government has long struggled to regulate.

Although a 10% tax on digital asset profits was introduced under the 2022 Finance Act, it was never enforced. This time, enforcement is coming as crypto traders must self-report their profits.

To boost compliance, crypto exchanges will now be required to monitor and report transactions. Non-compliant platforms face ₦10 million ($6,928.18) in fines in the first month and ₦1 million ($692.82) for every subsequent month, alongside possible licence suspension or revocation by the SEC.

ATMs are making a comeback

After years of decline, ATMs are returning to the centre of Nigeria’s cash economy.

In Q1 2025 alone, Nigerians withdrew ₦15.98 trillion ($11.07 billion), a 192.7% increase year-on-year. The rebound follows new Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) guidelines tightening oversight of PoS agents and mandating wider ATM deployment.

Under a draft regulation, banks must deploy one ATM for every 5,000 active cards issued—30% compliance by 2026, 60% by 2027, and full compliance by 2028. The shift signals a return to ATM-first access after years of PoS dominance.

By 2026, Nigerians should expect more ATMs and tighter controls on PoS operations.

Transfers will cost more from 2026

From January 2026, sending ₦50,000 ($34.64) will cost ₦100, not because banks changed their pricing, but because the government changed who pays.

Five years after replacing stamp duty with the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), Nigeria is bringing stamp duty back under the Nigeria Tax Act 2025.

Previously, EMTL charged a flat ₦50 on transfers of ₦10,000 ($6.93) and above, paid by the receiver. From 2026, the sender pays, and the charge stacks on top of existing transfer fees.

Currently, bank customers pay: ₦10 for transfers below ₦5,000; ₦25 for transfers between ₦5,001 and ₦50,000; ₦50 for transfers above ₦50,000.

With stamp duty added, transfers above ₦10,000 ($6.93) will now cost between ₦75 and ₦100 per transaction. For businesses and PoS agents, this removes the burden of deducting ₦50 from incoming payments. For individuals, it makes every transfer slightly more expensive.

The biggest winners of 2025: OPay and PalmPay

OPay and PalmPay tightened their grip on Nigeria’s microtransaction economy in 2025.

In Q1 alone, mobile money transactions hit ₦20.71 trillion ($14.35 billion), up 1,518.64% from ₦1.28 trillion ($886.81 million) in Q1 2021. Much of that volume flowed through the two platforms. Their rise was driven by timing, reliability, and trust, especially during periods when banks faltered, from the 2022 naira redesign to recurring outages in 2024.

By 2025, OPay had crossed 20 million daily active users, while PalmPay processed over 15 million daily transactions. Both are now betting on cards to reach semi-digital and offline users in 2026.

Generally, in 2025, we learnt that apps are now becoming the most preferred means of moving cash in the country, and banks are paying attention. Mobile app payments jumped 33.65% year-on-year to ₦104.07 trillion ($72.10 billion) in Q1 2025, driven by smartphone adoption and renewed bank investment in core systems, digital channels, ATM networks, and fraud prevention.

In 2025, banks proved that they could keep up with fintechs. For instance, GTCO’s apps—GTWorld and GAPS/GAPSLite— handled ₦35.8 trillion ($24.80 billion) in H1, 2025 alone. In 2026, we’ll find out if this is a fluke.

How much Nigerians can spend, thanks to tax laws, and how they move their money, thanks to policy shifts, is changing fast. In 2025, money laws were written. In 2026, those laws will take full effect, and as always, we will be here to follow the money.

Note: exchange rate used: ₦1,443.38 /$