Tim Smith once said “for a small investment today, we could be creating something that our grandchildren will thank us for”. To do today what your grandchildren would thank you for tomorrow, you’ve got to invest! In this investment series we’ll tour 5 low risk investment you can exploit today to make some ROI with little or much. First in our series is the famous treasury bills, straight to the board…Let’s Go!!!

What are treasury bills?
They are government-issued short-term debt instruments issued by the central bank of Nigeria. Also called Tbills, they were first issued in Nigeria in April 1960, and has been a viable means of funding for the government ever since while also offering attractive interest rates to investors. Over the years tbills interest rate has hit as high as eighteen percent per annum (18% p.a) and even higher providing unprecedented ROI’s in the process. Till this date it remains a solid investment option for the enlightened and elites, so…

How can I buy treasury bills?
Treasury bills can be bought from dealers or brokers licensed by the CBN or through banks’ and are sold in two markets namely;
(i)primary market
(ii)secondary market
The primary market is where the investor buys directly from the CBN/Commercial bank through a public auction carried out fortnightly, and is available in 91, 180 and 364 days only, while in the secondary market, an investor buys from an existing holder who is selling his mandate before maturity. The bill remains valid for the remainder of the tenure at a set rate, this can be purchased via brokers and commercial banks only.

When can I purchase treasury bills?
For the primary market, purchase/bids are done once in 2 weeks (fortnightly).
Secondary market can be purchased on any working day subject to availability of mandates in the secondary market.

How much can I invest in Treasury bills?
You can invest as low as N100,000 when purchasing from a bank, and a minimum of N50,000,000 when purchasing directly from CBN.

How do I get paid my interest?
Treasury bills interest are payable upfront (i.e at the beginning of the investment) or reinvestable to be gotten at the end of the investment cycle with the capital, depending on which option the investor prefers.

Some advantages of treasury bills
1.T-bills are low-risk and suitable for safe money keeping for a brief period.
2.T-bills can be a steady source of income (by consistent reinvestments/rollover)
3.T-bills are very liquid and easily converted to cash.
4.They can be used as collateral to get loans or over drafts.
5. Capital is affordable compared to other security instruments.

So if you’ve got some few bucks to spare, rather than leave it in a savings account, T bills is a good way to make some money of it. Take action now!
I look forward to your questions, experiences and recommendations in the comments section. Cheers.

“if you think education is expensive, try ignorance” said Derek Bok. Bank charges are a serious head ache for the average Nigerian banking with Nigerian banks, this is primarily caused by the lack of knowledge on the customers path and also partial negligence of the banks to duly elighten customers on charges applicable to them. Awareness of these charges and what they are for is important, as this aids you as a customer to prepare ahead and avoid the avoidable and reduce the deductable. Spare a couple of bytes of your data as I delve through a couple of charges every bank customer in Nigeria needs to know;

1. Account Maintenance Charge (N1/mill)
Account maintenance charge is a charge that account holders incur monthly on a current/checking account with a financial institution. Nigerian banks are licensed by CBN to charge current accounts a maximum of N1/mill (N1 for every N1,000) for transactions carried out on the accounts. For example on a transaction of N100,000 an AMC of N100 is deducted, and this applies to both debit and credit transactions.

The AMC may not apply to every type of current/checking account as some banks offer premium checking accounts with little or no account maintenance charges attached to them, however certain requirements would have to be met to enjoy such a benefit, such as minimum fixed monthly turnover target or a high minimum account balance must be maintained.


2. FIP charges
FIP charges are charges incurred by making e-transactions with other banks in Nigeria (inter- bank transfers). FIP charge is currently pegged at N10 (0.75k VAT) charge for a transaction below N5000; N25 (+N1.88k VAT) for transactions of N5001 to N50,000 while transactions above N50,000 will be charged N50 (3.75k + VAT). This applies to both transactions processed at a Branch or via USSD, Mobile Applications or Internet Banking upto a maximum amount of N50,000,000, which is the maximum allowable amount transferrable via FIP. Larger transactions would be processed via other means and attract higher charges.

3. Electronic money transfer levy (EMT Levy)
Electronic Money Transfer Levy formerly known as stamp duty charge was introduce by the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Finance Act of 2020 and commenced on the 1st of January, 2021. The EMT Levy is a levy of ₦50 (+N3.75k VAT) charged on electronic transfer of money deposited in any bank or financial institution, on any account, on sums of ₦10,000.00 or more. Few accounts are however exempted from the EMT Levy; examples are bank agents accounts and government accounts.

4. USSD session charges
“Effective March 16, 2021, USSD services for financial transactions conducted at DMBs (Deposit Money Banks) and all CBN-licensed institutions will be charged at a flat fee of N6.98 per transaction…” – The above quote is a joint statement issued by CBN and NCC on session charges. Important to note is that
*Airtime and Data purchases via USSD are exempted from this charge.
*The charge is charged per session initiated not per transaction, implying whenever a transaction is attempted, successful or not the charges would be passed for that session of using the code.

5. Cashless policy charge
The CBN cash policy was introduced by the APEX bank to curb the excessive flow of cash in the society. The policy requires a daily total limit of N500,000 and N3,000,000 on free cash withdrawals across all accounts owned by individual and corporate customers
respectively. Individuals and corporate organizations that make cash withdrawals above the limits will be charged a service fee for amounts above the cumulative limits;

Individual N500,000 3%
Corporate N3,000,000 5%

The above charge applies to both cash deposit and withdrawal. To manage this it is advisable to make use of the E transfer options offered by your bank for bulk transactions to avoid being charged. A detailed write up is coming up soon on how businesses with huge cash flow can efficiently operate without being charged for cash policy charges.

Thank you for reading through and we hope you were informed and got your answers from this write up. Kindly drop your comments, questions on any charges you may not be clear about, or your additions in the comments box and I’ll respond as fast as I can. See you soon. Stay safe and Cheers.