The Central Bank of Nigeria has recorded a 284.6% rise in the transaction volume of its digital currency, eNaira, for August 2023.
Nairametrics reported that the central bank said this in its Monthly Economic Report for August 2023 where it also stated that the eNaira hit N9.78 billion in August.
Although the monthly eNaira increase was significant, it was just 0.37% when compared to the Currency-In-Circulation.
According to the report: “There was a substantial increase in the eNaira, which rose by 284.6% to ₦9.78 billion, although the ratio of eNaira to CIC at 0.37%”
The CBN also announced an 11.7% drop in currency-in-circulation for August, bringing the total to N2.66 trillion.
The surge in the usage of electronic payment methods for business transactions was ascribed to the fall in CIC.
Total credits climbed by 0.8% to N38.55 trillion for the month, with the service sector accounting for 52.2% of total loans.
Industry and agriculture accounted for 43.2% and 4.6%, respectively.
Consumer credits, on the other hand, stood at N2.99 trillion for the month, reflecting a 16.9% rise over the previous month. According to the research, the increase in consumer credit is due to an increase in demand for credit facilities by economic actors.
Personal loans accounted for 75.4% of consumer credit during the month, followed by retail sector loans at 24.6%.
The Central Bank of Nigeria introduced the eNaira in 2021 as part of its attempts to promote financial inclusion, innovation, and efficiency in the Nigerian economy.
Despite the innovation’s great intentions, adoption has been quite poor. According to a research from the International Monetary Fund 2023, adoption of the eNaira is regrettably low.
The institution stated that wallet downloads among retail consumers have grown slowly.
According to the IMF, the bulk of eNaira accounts were dormant, with an average of 14,000 eNaira transactions every week.
