Nigeria Moves to Cashless Government: All Federal Revenues Must Now Be Paid Electronically

The federal government of Nigeria has announced a sweeping new policy that bans cash payments for all government revenue collections. Every Ministry, Department, and Agency (MDA) must stop accepting physical cash — whether in naira or foreign currency — for any payment or service, effective immediately.

Under the new rules, all payments must be made through electronic channels approved by the government and credited directly into the appropriate Treasury Single Account (TSA).

MDAs still accepting cash have been given a 45‑day deadline to deploy functional Point‑of‑Sale (POS) terminals or other approved e‑payment devices at every revenue collection point nationwide. Accounting officers have been warned they will be held personally responsible for non-compliance.

The reform also ends unauthorised deductions: any fees, commissions, or charges previously taken by MDAs before remitting funds to the TSA must now be paid directly from Treasury accounts. This is aimed at preventing revenue leakages and improving transparency.

Starting January 1, 2026, the only legally valid proof of payment to the federal government will be the new Federal Treasury eReceipt (FTe‑R). The government also plans to fully roll out the Revenue Optimisation (RevOP) Platform — a unified digital system for billing, collection, and real-time revenue monitoring.

Government officials and analysts say the measures — part of one of the biggest overhauls of Nigeria’s revenue administration in a decade — seek to reduce corruption, eliminate cash‑related leakages, strengthen accountability, and modernise the public finance system.