The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has debunked reports that it planned to replace the conventional Naira notes in circulation with digital currency, otherwise known as the eNaira, in due course.
The apex bank’s Director of Corporate Communications Department, Mr. Osita Nwanisobi, said the misleading statement purportedly made at a stakeholders’ engagement on eNaira adoption in Asaba, Delta, was misconstrued and therefore, urged the public to completely disregard it.
He further explained that the digital version of the Naira is meant to complement the existing currency notes and therefore, would circulate simultaneously with the conventional Naira notes as means of exchange and store of value.
According to him, the adoption of the digital legal tender, aside from its safety and speedy features, would also ensure greater access to financial services by the underbanked and unbanked populace thereby enhancing financial inclusion.
He urged the public and business owners to embrace digital currency as it offers more possibilities.
The eNaira was formally launched into circulation by President Muhammadu Buhari in October last year.
CBN governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele had recently expressed optimism that the bank would achieve the 85 per cent financial inclusion target which is currently at about 70 per cent.
Addressing a delegation of Executive Directors from the Bank of Uganda, who was on an experience sharing tour of the CBN’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) project, Emefiele said the apex bank remained committed to accelerating the rate at which those who were financially excluded could come into the formal banking sector.
He also expressed satisfaction that the eNaira had recorded some level of success judging by the rate of integration and security features.
The central bank governor said the CBDC would enhance the relationship between mobile banking and e-business and speed up the rate of financial inclusion.
He pointed out that the interest that the eNaira continued to attract from other countries and multinational bodies, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, underscored the level and quality of work the CBN had put into the project.
Emefiele said Nigeria is currently a case study to other climes, being the first country in Africa to launch its CBDC, adding that the country was treading cautiously to ensure it sustains the successes recorded so far.
He also told the visiting team that the country had deepened its payment system infrastructure, which is ranked among the best in the world.
Emefiele had said with growing interest in CBDC around the world, the CBN had commenced extensive study, consultations, identification of use cases, and the testing of the CBDC concept in a Sandbox environment as far back as 2017.
He said the objective of the research was to establish a compelling case for the adoption of a digital currency in the country to enable a more prosperous and inclusive economy for all Nigerians.
He added that following the completion of the preliminary work, the researchers and experts at the CBN were able to clearly establish that a digital currency will drive a more cashless, inclusive, and digital economy as well as complement the gains of previous policy measures and our fast-growing payments platforms.
