Nigeria Government Launches eNaira Digital Currency

Three weeks after postponing the much-anticipated launch of Nigeria’s digital currency, e-naira, the Nigeria government has finally launched it today, October 25, 2021. According to the CBN, the theme of the e-Naira will be: “Same Naira, more possibilities”.

The launch of the eNaira is a culmination of many years of research work by the central bank in advancing the boundaries of the payments system to make financial transactions easier and seamless for members of different strata of society.

WHAT IS ENAIRA

eNaira is issued by CBN as a legal tender and it is also the digital form of the naira and will just be like cash.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

The digital currency is for everyone: individuals, households, businesses, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), religious institutions, and governments at all levels, as it enables customers to move money from their bank account to their eNaira wallet with ease.

Some of the benefits include diaspora payments, receiving financial support/intervention funds through the digital wallet; increasing customer base for financial institutions and businesses.

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The eNaira will ensure transparency in taxation systems for governments; facilitate the instant cross-border foreign exchange to boost economic growth, and minimize fraudulent activities such as money laundering, and illegal money deals because of the trackable unique ID of each eNaira.

WHAT IS ENAIRA WALLET?

This is the digital storage that holds the eNaira. It is held and managed on a distributed ledger and it is required to access, hold and use eNaira.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DIGITAL MONEY AND PHYSICAL MONEY

The eNaira is the digital form of cash and is a direct liability on CBN, while the customer deposits are direct liabilities of the financial institutions.

HOW TO ACCESS ENAIRA?

To access the digital currency, you will have to download the eNaira app either on the Google play store or the App store.