….as transactions on platform hit N4bn
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Thursday disclosed that effective from next week, Nigerians can subscribe to the eNaira using short codes as part of its efforts to improve the acceptability of the digital currency.
The Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, who gave this hint during the eNaira Hackathon grand finale in Abuja, said digital currency would soon become part of “our lives” as about 8 million users would be the fresh target of the eNaira.
He said: “As captured in the design paper released, eNaira is a journey, not a one-time event. This Hackathon event is a continuation of that journey and the first among many to come given that the future of central banking is inextricably bound in innovation.
“We don’t have a choice but to live with the fact that we are now in a digital economy. In a digital space where the use of cash will dissipate to almost zero and the use of digital currency will increase and will now become part of our lives.
“The second phase of the project has begun and intended to drive financial inclusion by onboarding the unbanked and the underserved users leveraging offline channels. Hence greater success is envisioned for the project with phase two expected to deliver more gains with the target of eight million users based on estimation using the diffusion of innovation model.
“I’m pleased and indeed delighted to inform you all today that by next week, Nigerians both banked and unbanked will be able to open an eNaira wallet and conduct transactions by simply dialing *997# from their mobile phones”, Emefiele added.
This is even as the governor said that cumulative transactions on e-Naira, platform since the digital currency’s launch in October last year had totaled N4 billion even as downloads on the platform had reached 840,000, with about 270,000 active wallets, comprising over 252,000 consumer wallets and 17,000 merchant wallets.
The governor further clarified: “Notwithstanding this appreciable progress, the second phase of the project has begun and it is intended to drive financial inclusion by onboarding, unbanked and under-served users leveraging offline channels.
“Hence, greater success is envisioned for the project with phase two expected to deliver more gains with a target of about 8,000,000 active users based on estimations using the diffusion of innovation model”, he added.
Emefiele explained that when analysed against this background, the launch of eNaira was timely and “strategic in complementing the various diversification and digitisation initiatives of the Federal Government including the launch of the Nigeria Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), The Nigeria Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), as well as the introduction of the Start-Up Bill and a host of others.”
He expressed optimism that the eNaira would make a significant positive difference to Nigeria and Nigerians, as it would ease their participation in the global digital economy.
The governor expatiated: “Specifically, the eNaira is expected to enhance financial inclusion, support poverty reduction, enable direct welfare disbursement to citizens, support a resilient payments ecosystem, improve availability and usability of central bank money, facilitate diaspora remittances, reduce the cost of processing cash, and reduce cost and improve efficiency of cross-border payment among others.
“The eNaira was also developed to provide Nigerians with a cheap, safe and trusted means of payment. 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.
“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”, Emefiele added.
