TL;DR Breakdown
- Nigeria’s CBDC finally launches.
- CBN says 33 banks have joined eNaira platform.
- Govt to process CBDC transaction free for 90 days.
After the long-awaited release of Nigeria’s Central Bank Digital Currency (eNaira) the country’s president, Muhammadu Buhari has finally launched the eNaira platform on Monday.
The eNaira is a culmination of several years of research work by the Central Bank of Nigeria in advancing the boundaries of payments system in order to make financial transactions easier and seamless for every stratum of society.
CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, who said this described the launch as the first in Africa and one of the earliest around the world.
The Apex bank governor noted that the launch of digital currency is a major step forward in the evolution of money. The bank vowed to ensure that the e-Naira, like the physical Naira, is accessible by everyone.
33 Nigerian banks join eNaira platform as CBN mints N500m
The Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has said 33 Nigerian banks have joined the eNaira platform and the apex bank has minted N500 million worth of digital currency.
He said,”33 banks are fully integrated and live on the platform, 500 million has been successfully minted by the Bank, N200 million has been issued to financial institutions, over 2,000 customers have been onboarded and over 120 merchants have successfully registered on the eNaira platform.”
Emefiele described the CBDC as one with far more possibilities than the physical naira. He noted that since the platform went live, it has received over 2.5 million visits daily while pledging that “there would be strict adherence to the Anti-money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism standards in order to preserve the integrity and stability of Nigeria’s payment system.
The CBN also said that all transactions conducted on the newly launched digital currency platform, eNaira will be free for 90 days.
However, it said it will revert to its guide on applicable charges by banks and other financial and non-financial institutions at the end of the stated period.
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