Sterling Bank is marking one year since it broke from industry norms by introducing its Zero Transfer Fees policy.

The initiative has returned over N2 billion directly to customers and has fundamentally reshaped the cost of everyday banking across Nigeria. Launched on April 1, 2025, the policy eliminated transfer charges on the bank’s digital platform, OneBank. This made Sterling the first major Nigerian bank to waive revenue from customer online transactions.

The decision represented a deliberate redefinition of value in banking. It shifted focus away from earning on customer activity towards enabling it. In a market where fees had long been accepted as standard, Sterling’s move challenged the status quo and reframed the relationship between banks and the people they serve.

“We made a deliberate decision to stop charging for the movement of money and to build our model around delivering real value instead. One year on, the outcome has validated both the principle behind that choice and the strength of the model itself,” said Abubakar Suleiman, Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank.

Over the past 12 months, millions of customers have benefited from fee-free transfers. Adoption has accelerated across individuals, small businesses, and digital-first users. Beyond the immediate financial relief, the policy has contributed to increased transaction volumes, deeper financial inclusion, and stronger engagement with formal banking systems.

Sterling’s ability to sustain the initiative stems from its multi-year digital transformation strategy. The bank has transitioned from legacy infrastructure to a wholly homegrown core banking platform. This is supported by a scalable private cloud environment built to handle exponential growth.

“Our transformation was never about technology for its own sake,” Suleiman added. “It was about building enduring capacity to serve, to scale, and ultimately to deliver more value to our customers. When that capacity matured, we made a conscious decision to return the benefits to the people who make the system work.”

Donatus Okpako, Chief Marketing Officer of Sterling Bank, described the anniversary as both a milestone and a signal of what comes next. “This initiative has challenged long-held assumptions about how banks create value,” he said. “We are demonstrating that it is entirely possible to run a strong, commercially sound institution while being fundamentally fair to customers. The N2 billion represents real relief, real impact, and a rebalancing in favour of the customer. That principle will continue to guide what we build next.”