•N500m eNaira Minted, N200m Issued To Financial Institutions
•Urges Stakeholders To Deepen eNaira Value To Nigerians

The Central Bank of Nigeria has allayed the fear of Nigerians over the value of the eNaira, also known as Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) saying it has the same value as the physical naira.

This was the special remark made by the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele at the launch of the Nigeria’s Central Bank Digital Currency( The eNaira)

The Apex Bank Governor said the eNaira is a legal tender with an equivalent value as the physical naira, but with more functionalities.

“The eNaira is Nigeria’s CBDC and it is the digital equivalent of the physical Naira. As the tagline simply encapsulates, the eNaira is the same Naira with far more possibilities.

“The eNaira – like the physical Naira – is a legal tender in Nigeria and a liability of the CBN. The eNaira and Naira will have the same value and will always be exchanged at 1 naira to 1 eNaira”, Emefiele said.

Speaking on the milestones the eNaira has achieved since it went live, Emefiele said the website has become a beehive of activities with over 2.5 million visits daily by Nigerians. He also said banks and other financial institutions have been onboarded on the eNaira platform.

He said, “33 banks are fully integrated and live on the platform; N500 million has been successfully minted by the Bank; N200 million has been issued to financial institutions; Over 2,000 customers have been onboarded and Over 120 merchants have successfully registered on the eNaira platform”.

According to him, the impact includes, Supporting a resilient payment ecosystem; encouraging rapid financial inclusion; reducing the cost of processing cash; Enabling direct and transparent welfare intervention to citizens.

Others are, Increasing revenue and tax collection; facilitating diaspora remittances; reducing the cost of financial transactions, and improving the efficiency of payments.

“To de-risk the process, the CBN has given careful consideration to the entire payments and financial architecture and has designed the eNaira to complement and strengthen these ecosystems and have implemented secure safeguards and policies to maintain the integrity of the financial system.

“Specifically, there will be strict adherence to the anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) standards in order to preserve the integrity and stability of Nigeria’s payment system”, Emefiele said.

The central Bank Governor also called on all relevant stakeholders including the Financial Institutions, NIBSS, FinTech groups, Telcos and merchants to collaborate, innovate, deepen and enhance the value of eNaira to Nigerians and to Nigeria.

He expressed the hope of the bank that the eNaira will drive the digital economy agenda and foster a more prosperous Nigeria.

Speaking on the the commencement of usage of the eNaira, Emefiele said customers who download the eNaira Speed Wallet App will be able to perform the following functions from today:
● Onboard and create their wallet
● Fund their eNaira wallet from their bank account
● Transfer eNaira from their wallet to another wallet
● Make payment for purchases at registered merchant locations

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had in February barred Deposit Money Banks and other financial institutions from dealing in or facilitating transactions in crypto-currencies, warning of “severe regulatory sanctions” and freezing accounts of firms it said were using them.

Nigeria has recorded another first here in Africa as other countries in the continent like South Africa, Ghana, Morocco, Egypt and Kenya are all in the early stage of exploring CBDC pilot projects