Many financial experts have argued that the recent report that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), digital currency, eNaira recently recorded 200,000 volumes and four billion Naira value of transactions since its inauguration in 2021 cannot be said to be very impressive.
Mr Godwin Emefiele, the CBN Governor said this on Thursday in Abuja at the grand finale of the “eNaira Hackathon”.
The hackathon is a CBN’s collaborative initiative with the African Fintec Foundry (AFF).
it is aimed at bringing together teams of talented entrepreneurs, developers, designers, solution developers, problem-solvers and ‘code magicians’ from Africa to develop innovative solutions for improved adoption of the eNaira.
The competition was part of efforts by the CBN to drive financial inclusion, facilitate macroeconomic growth and integrate the Nigerian economy into the world-leading economies through innovation and cutting-edge emerging technologies.
NAN also recalls that the eNaira was inaugurated on Oct. 25, 2021 by President Muhammadu Buhari, making Nigeria the first African country to launch a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
Emefiele said since its inauguration, eNaira had reached 840,000 downloads, with about 270,000 active wallets comprising more than 252,000 consumer wallets and 17,000 merchant wallets.
According to him, the digital currency will enhance financial inclusion, support poverty reduction, enable direct welfare disbursement to citizens, support a resilient payments ecosystem and improve availability and usability of central bank money.
“The eNaira will also facilitate diaspora remittances, reduce the cost of processing cash, and also reduce cost and improve efficiency of cross-border payment,” he said.
The apex bank governor, however, said that the eNaira was the same Naira with far more possibilities.
“The eNaira will make a significant positive difference to Nigeria and Nigerians. It was also developed to provide Nigerians with a cheap, safe and trusted means of payment.
“It is unlike the offline payments channels like agent networks, USSD, wearables, cards and near field communication technology.
“The eNaira would give access to financial services to underserved and unbanked segments of the population,” he said.
He said that innovative products and services built on the eNaira would enhance Nigerians’ participation in the digital economy and promote further development of a burgeoning Fintech ecosystem.
Many financial experts heve argued that the recent report that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), digital currency, eNaira recently recorded 200,000 volumes and four billion Naira value of transactions since its inauguration in 2021 cannot be said to be very impressive.
Mr Godwin Emefiele, the CBN Governor said this on Thursday in Abuja at the grand finale of the “eNaira Hackathon”.
The hackathon is a CBN’s collaborative initiative with the African Fintech Foundry (AFF).
it is aimed at bringing together teams of talented entrepreneurs, developers, designers, solution developers, problem-solvers and ‘code magicians’ from Africa to develop innovative solutions for improved adoption of the eNaira.
The competition was part of efforts by the CBN to drive financial inclusion, facilitate macroeconomic growth and integrate the Nigerian economy into the world-leading economies through innovation and cutting-edge emerging technologies.
NAN also recalls that the eNaira was inaugurated on Oct. 25, 2021 by President Muhammadu Buhari, making Nigeria the first African country to launch a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
Emefiele said since its inauguration, eNaira had reached 840,000 downloads, with about 270,000 active wallets comprising more than 252,000 consumer wallets and 17,000 merchant wallets.
According to him, the digital currency will enhance financial inclusion, support poverty reduction, enable direct welfare disbursement to citizens, support a resilient payments ecosystem and improve availability and usability of central bank money.
“The eNaira will also facilitate diaspora remittances, reduce the cost of processing cash, and also reduce cost and improve efficiency of cross-border payment,” he said.
The apex bank governor, however, said that the eNaira was the same Naira with far more possibilities.
“The eNaira will make a significant positive difference to Nigeria and Nigerians. It was also developed to provide Nigerians with a cheap, safe and trusted means of payment.
“It is unlike the offline payments channels like agent networks, USSD, wearables, cards and near field communication technology.
“The eNaira would give access to financial services to underserved and unbanked segments of the population,” he said.
He said that innovative products and services built on the eNaira would enhance Nigerians’ participation in the digital economy and promote further development of a burgeoning Fintech ecosystem.
