Nigeria raises to launch its own digital currency, the E-Naira, by October 1, 2021.
Having barred banks and financial institutions from dealing in or facilitating transactions in cryptocurrencies in February 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Monday, August 31, 2021, announced plans to launch its own digital currency later this year.
Unveiling this plan, the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, who had called cryptocurrencies ‘money out of thin air’, said the apex bank will work with Barbados-based Bitt as a technical partner in its bid to launch the “eNaira“.
Emefiele said the eNaira would operate as a wallet against which customers can hold existing funds in their bank account. He added that the currency would accelerate cross-border trade, financial inclusion and enable cheaper and faster remittance inflows.
CBN Director, Corporate Communications Osita Nwanisobi said Project Giant, as the Nigerian CBDC pilot is known, has been a long and thorough process. The CBN had revealed on July 22, 2021, that the pilot scheme for the project will begin.
Osita recalled that the bank decided to digitize the Naira in 2017, following well-thought-out processes, adding that the apex bank followed a global trend of the use of digital payments and the acceptance of the digital economy.
He said that due to the rise in digital payments and the acceptance of the digital economy, the CBN followed a global trend.
More than 85 per cent of Central Banks are now considering adopting digital currencies in their countries, Nwanisobi noted.
The CBN will first launch by rolling out the eNaira. This will involve the issuing, distribution, redemption, as well the destruction of the currency. Then, the second stage, called the Financial Institution Suite, “licensed financial institutions will be able to request currency or issue stable coins.” They will also “manage digital currency across branches, KYC, identify and AML compliance capability.”
The federal government will handle the third stage, where it will “process digital payments sent to and received from citizens and businesses.” At the fourth stage are merchants who are expected to provide “low-cost payment and business management software, POS, remote payment solutions, online capabilities, transaction analysis and reconciliation.” The last stage, which is also known as the Retail Consumer Suite, will focus on the digital currency’s architecture.
The selection of Bitt as a technical partner has raised eyebrows in the tech space and on social media in Nigeria, where Nigerians are asking why a Nigerian tech company was not employed as a partner instead of Bitt. But Emefiele says they had passed the competency tests and rose above other competitors.
“The CBN’s selection of Bitt Inc, from among highly competitive bidders, was hinged on the company’s technological competence, efficiency, platform security, interoperability, and implementation experience.”
Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are digital currencies issued by the government. While they might share similarities with cryptocurrencies, they’re not necessarily cryptocurrencies.
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