This picture taken on January 29, 2016 in Lagos shows 1000 naira banknotes, Nigeria’s currency. Nigeria’s central bank governor, Godwin Emefiele, on January 26 dismissed calls to devalue the naira in his monetary policy committee statement. Instead he chose to continue propping up the currency at 197-199 naira to the dollar and maintain foreign-exchange restrictions. As a result, the naira on the black market is hovering around a record low of 305, fuelling complaints from domestic and foreign businesses who can’t access dollars required for imports. / AFP / PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images)

eNaira Transactions Rise To N4bn

The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has revealed that the value of transactions on the eNaira has risen to N4 billion since its launch on October 25, 2021.

This then shows an increase of 2,027.66 per cent from the last year’s transaction value of N188 million.

This was disclosed at the grand finale of the 2022 eNaira hackathon.

Recall in December last year, the CBN Controller, Enugu branch, Ch’Edozie Okonjo, at the 2021 Annual Bankers Dinner and Lecture organised by the Enugu State branch of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, had said that the CBN recorded over 34,000 transactions on the eNaira platform, with a total value of over N188m.

Okonjo had said, “So far, we have recorded over 583,000 consumer wallets and about 83,000 merchant wallets downloads, with downloads occurring in over 160 countries (per Google Play Store and Apple Store data).  We have also recorded over 34,000 transactions amounting to over N188m. These numbers suggest the adoption rate has been excellent.”

During the 2022 eNaira Hackathon, the CBN governor also said that there had been about 840,000 downloads and 200,000 transaction volumes.

Emefiele said, “Since the launch of this great initiative, the eNaira has reached 840,000 downloads, with about 270,000 active wallets comprising over 252,000 consumer wallets and 17,000 merchant wallets. In addition, volume and value of transactions on the platform have been remarkable, reaching above 200,000 and N4bn, respectively.”

The CBN governor further disclosed that from next week, banked and unbanked Nigerians would be able to open an eNaira wallet and conduct transactions through the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data code by simply dialling 

The apex bank governor added, “Shortly after this, both merchants and consumers with bank accounts can use the NIBSS Instant Payment to transfer and receive eNaira to any bank account.

“This will further deepen the integration of the eNaira with the existing national payment infrastructure.”

Emefiele also said that the apex bank targeted about eight million active users for the next phase of the eNaira project.

Kehinde Ogunyale

Reporting on the data-driven economy, and investigations.

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