Nigerians are increasingly using the digital currency for transactions due to banknote storage, months after the introduction of the e-naira.
According to recent reports, eNaira transactions are set to increase by 63% to 22 billion naira (~$47.7 million) in 2023.
E-Naira gets a push after 18 months
The e-naira is slated to launch in October 2021 after the website for Nigeria’s central bank’s digital currency went live in September. Since then, around 13 million users have reportedly signed up for the e-wallet. Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele said this is an increase of more than 12 times since its launch in October.
The officer said,
“We have seen good progress in the adoption of Enayara. We are glad that as we strive to move more and more towards financial inclusion, and move people away from being excluded from the financial system, Well Naira remains one of the very portable options for everyone to adopt.
After a sluggish start, the use of e-Naira is finally gaining momentum in the country. The data indicated that the adoption level remained modest in the fourth quarter of 2022. However, Nigerians have been subject to a cash withdrawal cap since January. Last year, the government’s demonetisation drive to exchange currency notes reportedly emptied ATMs. Additionally, restrictions on over-the-counter cash withdrawals have also pushed people online.
The governor claims that following efforts to ease access liquidity, the amount of physical money in circulation decreased from 3.2 trillion naira in September to about 1 trillion naira.
According to Emefiele, of the more than 10 billion mined digital e-naira, about 3.4 billion are in circulation.
He also credited the government for using Enayara for welfare programmes. He informed that the adoption of the currency has increased due to the opening of 4 million new e-wallets by the beneficiaries of the scheme.
The governor said, “eNERA has emerged as the electronic payment channel of choice for implementing financial inclusion and social interventions.”
CBDC is part of a global conversation
The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) is closer to launching a digital dirham as it recently introduced the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) strategy.
The Gulf Times confirmed in its report that the CBUAE has signed an agreement with G42 Cloud and R3 to provide the necessary technology and infrastructure to implement the CBDC strategy. This strategy comes under the Financial Infrastructure Transformation (FIT) program of CBUAE.
In contrast, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wants to ban CBDCs in the US.
According to a press release from Monday, DeSantis proposed using both Fed-issued and foreign CBDCs as currency. They have urged other states to follow suit by including similar prohibitions in their commercial codes.
“The Biden administration’s effort to inject a centralized bank digital currency is about surveillance and control,” DeSantis said.
disclaimer
BeInCrypto has reached out to the company or the person involved in the story for an official statement regarding the recent development, but has yet to hear back.