The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is ramping up efforts to expand the use of its digital currency, eNaira, to facilitate government transactions.
This comes as part of the CBN’s newly released Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade, and Exchange Policy Guidelines for 2024-2025.
According to the document, the eNaira will soon allow Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to initiate vendor payments directly from their respective eNaira wallets.
The CBN highlighted that “the eNaira Wallet/Channels will enable payers to remit funds into government accounts at the CBN.”
As part of this initiative, the CBN plans to roll out eNaira version 2.0, which includes additional features like offline functionality and programmable money, aimed at both federal and state governments.
“This version will expand the role of deposit money banks and further embed the eNaira into daily government operations,” the CBN stated.
These upgrades, according to the bank, are designed to address adoption challenges, enhance financial inclusion, and make payments faster and more secure.
Despite the digital currency being launched in October 2021, its adoption rate remains modest. Recent data shows that the eNaira accounts for only 0.36% of Nigeria’s total currency in circulation.
However, the CBN remains optimistic, citing ongoing partnerships with banks, fintech companies, and merchants, as well as measures like waived transaction fees, to drive future growth.
The CBN is also collaborating with global partners, positioning Nigeria among the top three countries leading the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) movement.
