Nigeria aims for millions of new eNaira users as it increases features, targets unbanked

Nigeria’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), eNaira, will enter its second phase of expansion with new technology to boost its user base, Nigerian central bank governor Godwin Emefiele said Thursday in Abuja. Spoken at the 2022 eNaira Hackathon. His eNaira, Africa’s first CBDC, will launch in October 2021.

eNaira is a journey, not a one-time event, Emefiele said. addition:

We have no choice but to accept the fact that we are now in a digital economy, a digital space.[s] cash will be almost zero.

Phase 2 of the project has been launched and aims to drive financial inclusion by onboarding unbanked and underserved users. [] We are targeting around 8 million active users,” said Emefiele. continuationCBDC has approximately 840,000 downloads and approximately 270,000 active wallets, including 252,000 consumer wallets. There were about 200,000 transactions valued at Naira 4 billion (about $9.5 million at the official exchange rate).

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Emefiele said the central bank will incorporate unstructured ancillary services data (USSD) “by next week” and will allow users to dial a four-digit code on their mobile phones whether or not they have a bank account. Users with bank accounts can then make money transfers between their bank accounts using the Nigerian Interbank Payments System (NIPS) instant payment system. eNaira already has an app that allows users to pay utility bills and many other services.

Additionally, the eNaira Hackathon platform is layered on top of the eNaira platform to provide more functionality. SaidThe organization and central bank are co-sponsors of a hackathon attended by 4,667 startups. Of which, he received 10 prizes ranging from 1 million to 5 million Naira.

Due to the volatility of fiat currencies, both Naira and eNaira face intense competition from cryptocurrencies despite an implicit ban on cryptocurrencies in the country.