Nigerians pocket over N2bn after Sterling Bank’s zero transfer fees policy reached its first anniversary, with millions of customers benefiting from fee‑free digital transfers that have reshaped everyday banking costs across the country.
The milestone highlights how eliminating online transfer charges can directly return value to customers.
Sterling Bank launched its zero transfer fees policy on April 1, 2025, becoming one of the first major Nigerian financial institutions to remove charges on all electronic transfers made via its OneBank digital platform.
Before the policy, most Nigerian banks commonly charged fees on online transfers, adding to the cost of daily banking for individuals and businesses.
The move by Sterling challenged that standard fee model and reframed customer expectations about banking costs.
Over the past year, the zero transfer fees policy has been credited with encouraging greater financial inclusion and engagement with formal banking systems, particularly among small‑scale entrepreneurs and digitally‑savvy users.
Since inception, the initiative has returned over N2 billion directly to customers, with adoption accelerating across individuals, small businesses, and digital‑first users.
Millions of transfers were conducted without fee deductions during this period.
“We made a deliberate decision to stop charging for the movement of money and to build our model around delivering real value instead,” said Abubakar Suleiman, Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank.
He noted that the policy’s performance over the past 12 months validated the strategic choice and demonstrated the bank’s capacity to sustain it.
Sterling Bank’s zero transfer fees approach is supported by its digital transformation strategy, which shifted the bank from legacy systems to a homegrown core banking platform.
This private cloud‑based infrastructure was designed to scale with rising digital adoption and maintain service reliability.
Donatus Okpako, Chief Marketing Officer, described the N2 billion milestone as “real relief, real impact, and a rebalancing in favour of the customer,” reaffirming the bank’s commitment to expanding value‑driven offerings across payments, savings, and credit services.
Industry observers have noted that Sterling Bank’s zero fees policy has begun to influence broader conversations around pricing transparency and customer value in Nigeria’s financial services sector.
The Nigerians pocket over N2bn outcome signals a notable shift in how banking services can be priced in Nigeria, especially as digital financial services continue to grow.
Removing transfer fees lowers barriers to entry for formal banking, particularly for low‑income users and microenterprises that rely on frequent small transfers.
For small businesses, fee‑free transfers reduce operating costs and support greater liquidity, enabling faster movement of funds between suppliers, customers, and service providers.
This can enhance efficiency and competitiveness in local markets.
The policy’s broader implication lies in its potential to drive financial inclusion by encouraging unbanked or underbanked Nigerians to engage with digital banking platforms.
As users avoid fees that previously eroded small balances, savings behaviours and formal financial engagement may increase.
