The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, announced on Thursday that since the eNaira app’s introduction on October 25, 2021, financial transactions had reached N4 billion.
In addition, Emefiele at grand finale of the 2022 eNaira Hackathon in Abuja revealed that starting the following week, both banked and unbanked Nigerians will be able to open an eNaira wallet and conduct transactions by simply dialing *997# from their phones.
“Shortly after this, both merchants and consumers with bank accounts can use the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement Scheme’s (NIBSS) Instant Payment (NIP) to transfer and receive eNaira to any bank account. This will further deepen the integration of the eNaira with the existing national payment infrastructure”, he said.
The CBN Governor added that since the launch of the eNaira, downloads have reached 840,000 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 N4 billion, respectively”, Emefiele noted.
The CBN Governor reports that the project’s second phase has started and aims to promote financial inclusion by bringing on unbanked and underserved consumers through offline channels.
According to projections made using the diffusion of innovation model, the second phase is likewise anticipated to provide more gains with a target of roughly 8,000,000 active users.
Emefiele noted that 4,667 applications—4,082 male and 582 female—reflect a large level of enthusiasm from young, creative Nigerians in the eNaira hackathon.
“From an initial cohort of over 105 groups that made the quarter finals and 75 teams that progressed to the semi-finals, the Hackathon has reached its climax today with 20 teams in the finals from which the top 10 teams would emerge as Prize winners.
“This further corroborates the fact that Nigerians, both within and outside the country, possess innovative ideas and are willing and ready to leverage on exciting opportunities that the eNaira presents for enhancing digital financial services and contributing to national development”, he said.
The CBN Governor added that positioning private sector innovation remains one of the three foundational principles of Central bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
“The Hackathon is an initiative that creates a collaborative environment for experts with a diverse set of skills to drive sustained innovation geared towards making the eNaira the pinnacle for digital financial services and the gateway to the digital economy.
“It is intended to sought solutions that would: drive financial inclusion, SME growth and the creation of start-ups; facilitate cross border trades and transfers as well as international remittances and FX exchanges; effective implementation of welfare-inclined government programmes; and enhance efficiency in the interbank market.
“Today’s event is targeted at providing an engagement with critical stakeholders in the financial technology space to deepen the link between eNaira and Fintechs”.
