Nigeria’s central bank’s digital currency, the eNaira, saw a significant increase in total balances in 2022, reaching N2.5 billion.
According to Nairametrics, this represents a 2.65-fold increase year over year compared to the N940 million reported in 2022.
This is based on information from the Central Bank’s 2022 audited financial statement, which was published on Thursday.
As part of its initiatives to advance financial inclusion, innovation, and efficiency in the Nigerian economy, the CBN introduced the eNaira in 2021.
Payments, remittances, savings, and investments can all be made using eNaira, which is a legal tender.
The eNaira is also intended to enable cross-border trade and remittances, as well as to complement the current naira notes and coins.
To encourage the adoption and use of eNaira, the CBN has formed partnerships with a number of banks, fintech firms, and retailers.
Users can create wallets, move money, make payments, and access other financial services via the eNaira platform on their desktops or mobile devices.
Due to the fact that eNaira transactions are stored on a distributed ledger technology system, they are quick, safe, and transparent.
The CBN has also put in place a number of incentives and rules to promote the use of eNaira.
For instance, the CBN has mandated a minimum capital requirement of N50 million for eNaira service providers and has abolished transaction fees for eNaira users until 2023.
The CBN has also released instructions for the eNaira ecosystem’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing procedures.
The central bank recently gave recipients of remittances from the diaspora the option to pay with its digital currency.
The decision, according to the central bank, is part of its efforts to liberalize the distribution of diaspora remittances.
The IMF recently gave the eNaira a poor adoption rating, noting a slow increase in the number of retail users downloading the eNaira wallet.
