To Drive Transparency, Accountability, FG Bans Physical Cash Transactions for Government Revenues

•Issues 45-day deadline for deployment of PoS terminals, orders immediate stoppage of direct deductions from government revenues collected through dedicated portals, others

•Issuance of federal treasury e-receipt commences January 1, 2026, says document now only mandatory, recognised proof of revenue collection

•Adopts RevOP as approved platform for end-to-end revenue optimisation, reconciliation, treasury visibility, others

James Emejo in Abuja

Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Mr. Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, yesterday, prohibited the collection and/or acceptance of physical cash, in Naira or other currencies, for all revenues due to the federal government.

Ogunjimi said going forward, all revenue collections, for and on behalf of the federal government, must be made via electronic processing.

The AGF disclosed the changes in a flurry of circulars to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government aimed at plugging revenue leakages and ensuring accountability and transparency in financial transactions.

Ogunjimi said the federal government had observed with great concern the continued physical cash collection of government revenues at various transaction centres of MDAs.

He said the action contravened the provisions of e-payment policy; Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy; and its Implementation Guidelines covered in extant circulars.

He said, “Regrettably, persistent violations of this regulation by MDAs and parties in government transactions are being noticed. This trend is unacceptable as physical cash collection negates government policies and extant regulations; as well as weakens the integrity of federal government e-collection and e-payment systems.”

Ogunjimi declared that going forward, all MDAs and Federal Government-owned Enterprises (FGOEs) were required to immediately sensitise their staff, parties, and the general public transacting with them on the new policy.

The AGF added that notices stating a “No Physical Cash Receipt” and ‘No cash payment” in official transactions of the government must be conspicuously displayed at all revenue collection points.

He stressed that all payments to the government must be made via electronic channels duly approved by the OAGF and integrated to the appropriate TSA accounts.

Ogunjimi also said MDAs/FGOES currently collecting physical cash at various revenue centres or locations, must within 45 days of the circular, ensure the deployment of functional POS terminals or other approved electronic collection devices at all such locations.

The AGF further stressed that accounting officers were to enforce the directive, as they will be held accountable for any breaches traceable to official transactions of their MDAS/FGOES.

In separate circulars to MDAs, the AGF also directed all MDAs/FGOEs to ensure immediate stoppage of any direct deductions from government revenues collected through dedicated portals/PSSPs and other applications.

They were to further ensure that remittance of gross amount of all revenues received from any payer was routed and settled directly into the designated TSA/Sub-TSA account without any deductions.

Ogunjimi said all charges, fees, and levies, among others, arising from the services rendered by service providers shall be paid directly from designated TSA sub-account, adding that all portals/Payment Solution Service Providers (PSSPs}, and other service providers already engaged by MDAs for revenue collections must be regularised with the OAGF on or before December 31, 2025.

Ogunjimi expressed concern that MDAs were currently utilising customised front-end applications linked to various PSSPs platforms, through which various forms of deductions, including charges, fees, and commissions, were made at the point of collection before the net amount was remitted to the TSA.

He added that MDAs/FGOEs also deployed portals/PSSPs platforms for the collection of revenues the without approval of the AGF.

According to him, “These practices violate extant rules and regulations resulting in significant revenue leakages, which undermines the federal government’s efforts to achieve fiscal transparency.

“It has therefore become expedient to issue this circular to guide MDAs/FGOES on deployment of portals/Payment Solution Service Providers (PSSPs), and other applications for the collections of revenues on behalf of the government.”

In yet another circular addressed to Surveyor-General of the Federation, Directors-General/Chief Executives of Extra-Ministerial Offices and Agencies, Director of Treasury, Federal Capital Territory Administration, Federal Pay Officers, and Heads of Diplomatic Missions, among others, the AGF declared that the treasury will commence the issuance of the Federal Treasury e-Receipt (FTe-R) effective from January 1, 2026.

He stated that FTe-R shall be centrally generated and issued to the payer on the RevOP platform under the authority and control of the OAGF.

Upon generation, the FTe-R shall be electronically transmitted and delivered to the payer through payment channels designated by the MDA or STF, in strict compliance with the technical, security, and operational specifications prescribed and approved by the OAGF for FTe-R.

The circular added that the receipt shall serve as the official receipt for the payer and the corresponding proof of revenue collection for the respective MDA.

Ogunjimi said the government was implementing a fundamental reform to standardise and secure the proof of payment for all government collections in its ongoing effort to achieve an end-to-end transparency within the TSA framework.

Moreover, in a fourth circular, the AGF said the federal government was deploying the Revenue Optimisation (RevOP) and Assurance platform for real-time collection across all MDAs/FGOEs to ensure a harmonised and unified technology-driven ecosystem.

He said, “In view of the above, the federal government is adopting a service-wide Revenue Optimization (RevOP) and Assurance Platform. Accordingly, RevOP is hereby recognised as the approved platform of the federal government end-to-end revenue optimization; providing unified automation of billing information, reconciliation, and treasury visibility.

“The platform shall further enable automated disbursement, revenue splitting, real-time monitoring of all local and Foreign Currency Accounts maintained by MDAS/FGOEs and seamless integration with TSA, GIFMIS, CBN, NIBSS and FIRS systems and all revenue-collecting banks.”