By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
The Federal Government has prohibited the use of physical cash for the payment of revenue to Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) and directed the installation of Point of Sale (PoS) terminals within 45 days.
The directive was part of four treasury circulars issued by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF) and released on Monday, December 8.
The Accountant-General, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, said all payments to the Federal Government must now be made electronically and routed through channels approved by the treasury.
The circular, entitled ‘Enforcement of No Physical Cash Receipt Policy for All Federal Government Revenue Transactions, dated November 24, 2025, read, “All payments to government must be made through electronic channels approved by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and integrated into the appropriate Treasury Single Account.
“In view of the above, it is hereby directed that collections and/or acceptance of physical cash (in naira or other currencies) for all revenues due to the Federal Government is strictly prohibited.
“All revenue collections, for and on behalf of the Federal Government, must be made via electronic processing.”
In the first circular, the government said it was alarmed at the “continued physical cash collection” at MDA revenue points despite existing rules on e-payment and the Treasury Single Account.
It further noted that physical cash collection violated extant policies and “weakens the integrity of Federal Government e-collection and e-payment systems.”
The circular directed all MDAs and Federal Government-Owned Enterprises to immediately sensitise staff and the public on the ban and to display notices reading “NO PHYSICAL CASH RECEIPT” and “NO CASH PAYMENT” at all revenue collection points.
It added that any MDA currently collecting cash must, within 45 days, deploy functional POS terminals or other approved electronic devices at all locations.
To enforce compliance, the circular further warned that accounting officers would be held responsible for any breach.
In a second circular, titled Immediate Cessation of Direct Deductions on MDAs’ Dedicated Collection Systems, and dated November 25, 2025, the Treasury observed that MDAs were using front-end applications linked to various payment solution service providers, through which charges, fees, and commissions were deducted before the net amount was remitted to the Treasury Single Account.
It noted that the practice violated existing regulations and had resulted in “significant revenue leakages, which undermine the Federal Government’s efforts to achieve fiscal transparency.”
The circular ordered that the practice be halted immediately, stating that all revenues must be remitted to designated TSA or Sub-TSA accounts “without any deduction(s).”
According to the circular, any fees arising from service provision must now be paid directly from Treasury accounts rather than being deducted at source.
It said all existing portals and PSSPs used for revenue collection must also be regularised with the OAGF on or before December 31, 2025. MDAs involved in public-private partnerships were advised to seek further guidance from the Treasury.
The document warned that non-compliant MDAs would have their access to the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System and TSA accounts disabled.
The Treasury introduced a mandatory national e-receipt system in a third circular, titled Adoption of the Federal Treasury e-Receipt (FTe-R) and dated November 26, 2025.
It stated that the Federal Treasury would, from January 1, 2026, begin issuing a unified electronic receipt for all government payments. Only the centrally-issued FTe-R would be recognised as valid proof of federal transactions.
