Sterling Bank Explains Reason for Launching Free Transfers to All Banks
- Sterling Bank has explained that the reason it eliminated charges on online transactions was to ease the burden on its customers
- Sterling Bank’s managing director and chief executive officer, Abubakar Suleiman, said banks do not charge to make a profit
- He revealed that for every instant transfer, there are about eight or nine software programs that make it successful
Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.
Sterling Bank has explained the reason behind its plan to remove charges on online transfers to any bank.
The April 1, 2025 announcement saw the bank tell its customers that any transfers to any bank would attract zero fees.
Source: Facebook
Sterling Bank aims to ease customers’ burdens
Sterling Bank has doubled down on the decision as a genuine effort to ease financial strains on existing customers.
The bank’s managing director and chief executive officer, Abubakar Suleiman, disclosed at a recent briefing that the bank engaged in several consultations over the years about its customers' pain points and how to ease them.
He said Sterling Bank recognised that as situations became more challenging, small fees paid by customers daily for transactions were a pain point for them.
The Sterling Bank boss said banks are not greedy, but the modern payment systems leverage a tremendous amount of innovative technology, which requires massive investments.
Sterling Bank MD explains reason for removing charges
Abubakar revealed that every instant payment requires about eight or nine different software to become successful, saying that most of the software is imported and is required to protect customers’ data and to ensure that the banks can trace transactions.
He said the banks charge to recover the cost of the money used to maintain the software, and that it barely even covers them.
He stated that most of the costs that go through technology are not reflected as technology costs. He said the banks bear the cost of losses that occur during instant payment.
“We are not operating with the mindset of just charging; we charge because we are dependent on very expensive systems that we now trust to recover the money from this billing,” he said.
According to him, Sterling Bank has decided to give back some value to its customers after achieving significant improvements in its systems.
Sterling Bank makes history
He revealed that the bank became the first to build its core banking application using Nigerian engineers and plans to domesticate the technology.
He said every time a customer initiates a transfer, there is a switching company that has to be paid.
The bank's helmsman revealed that every charge the bank eliminates can improve transactions, saying the more people know that it does not cost to conduct transfers, the more they are likely to transact.
He revealed that the policy was for existing customers and customers who will open accounts with the bank in the next few months.
According to him, the bank would decide to extend the service, saying the target was its existing customers.
Sterling Bank sends message to other banks
The bank announced that it would no longer take money for any local online transactions by its customers.
The move elicited a debate among industry players, with many saying it was an April Fools’ Day prank on the banking populace.
Source: Getty Images
Sterling Bank became the first commercial bank to end the practice of charging customers in the guise of online transfers.
Former minister joins other Nigerians to open account with Sterling
Legit.ng earlier reported that former Aviation minister, Chief Osita Chidoka, was among the Nigerians eager to open a personal account with Sterling Bank, following the bank's decision to eliminate charges on local electronic transactions.
The no-charge transactions apply to customers sending to accounts of Sterling Bank and also to other banks.
On April 1, Sterling Bank made headlines by announcing it would remove all local transfer charges on its OneBank platform.
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Proofreading by Kola Muhammed, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
Pascal Oparada (Business editor) For over a decade, Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy. He has worked in many media organizations such as Daily Independent, TheNiche newspaper, and the Nigerian Xpress. He is a 2018 PwC Media Excellence Award winner. Email:pascal.oparada@corp.legit.ng
Kola Muhammed (Copyeditor) Kola Muhammed is an experienced editor and content strategist who has overseen content and public relations strategies for some of the biggest (media) brands in Sub-Saharan Africa. He has over 10 years of experience in writing and (copy)editing.
