The Nigerian central bank digital currency (CBDC), e-Naira is set to enter into the expansion of its next phase with new technologies to attract more users.
Additional features that are targeted toward making the CBDC more appealing and accessible will be added to the e-Naira.
During the just concluded 2022, e-Naira Hackathon held at Abuja, the governor of the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele announced that this expansion aligns with the plans of the government to hasten the adoption of the CBDC which was initially launched in October 2021.
In the week following, Nigerians will be able to conduct transactions using the e-Naira by utilizing the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) on their mobile phones. Just by dialing *997#, transactions will be initiated with step-by-step instructions. Similarly, interested persons would be permitted to open a wallet account using the USSD code on their phones.
Per his statement, Emefiele mentioned that “Nigerians, both banked and unbanked, will be able to open an eNaira wallet and conduct transactions by simply dialling *997# from their phones.”
CBN Targets The Inclusion of The Unbanked With e-Naira
Not restricting Nigerians to the USSD code, merchants and individuals who own bank accounts can use the NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) to issue transfer of funds and receive the e-Naira into any registered account. The NIBSS NIP is an account number-based online real-time inter-bank payment solution.
As earlier promised, the Nigerian government and the monetary sector plans to use the CBDC, which it launched back in October last year, to bolster financial inclusion. Comparing it to the Naira which is the legal tender of the country, the CBN plans to make e-Naira accessible to all its citizens. Furthermore, it is believed that the e-Naira will make it possible to include the unbanked in the digital economy.
Emefiele explained that the e-Naira is not a one-time event, rather it is a journey that was the reason for the Hackathon in the first place.
He noted that the Hackathon is another achieved milestone in the journey of the central bank to join emerging trends and advancements in the digital space. The governor affirmed while sharing an experience-tour of the CBN’s CBDC that the talks about the e-Naira have attracted many countries.
The latest push from the CBN may rewrite the narratives that earlier suggest the e-Naira project may not succeed.
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