Sterling Bank is commemorating the one-year milestone of its Zero Transfer Fees initiative, through which customers have collectively saved more than N1.6 billion since its rollout. The policy, launched on April 1, 2025, scrapped transfer charges on the bank’s digital platform, OneBank, positioning Sterling as the first major Nigerian bank to eliminate income from customers’ online transactions.
The bank stated that millions of customers have taken advantage of zero-fee transfers over the last 12 months, with adoption rising sharply among individuals, small enterprises, and users who prefer digital channels. It also highlighted that the initiative has led to increased transaction activity, broadened financial inclusion, and deeper engagement with the formal banking sector.
Sterling Bank explained that its capacity to maintain the policy stems from a multi-year digital transformation journey, which involved replacing legacy systems with a locally built core banking platform running on a scalable private cloud setup. It also indicated plans to scale its offerings across payments, savings, and credit, with a continued emphasis on delivering better financial outcomes and expanding access for Nigerians.
The Bank added that the initiative is beginning to drive broader industry conversations around pricing transparency and the value delivered to customers within Nigeria’s financial services space.
As Sterling enters the second year of its Zero Transfer Fees policy, it reaffirmed its commitment to increasing investment in technology, widening access, and setting higher benchmarks for customer experience in banking.
