Originally scheduled to take off on October 1, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) deferred the official launch of the Digital Currency, the eNaira due to other key activities lined up to commemorate the country’s 61st Independence Anniversary.

 The CBN said the enaira would serve the overall benefit of the customers, particularly those in the rural areas and the unbanked population.

 Highlighting the benefits of the eNaira, the apex bank said it would ease peer-to-peer transfer to another person’s eNaira wallet as well as pay for goods and services at selected merchants.

 The eNaira would also help reduce the use of cash and ensure the stability of the Nigerian economy.

 On the readiness of banks and other financial institutions in the financial ecosystem for the launch of the eNaira, the apex bank reiterated that eNaira was a journey, as it explained that not all banks customers were expected to commence transactions on the day of the launch.

 It was assured that financial institutions in Nigeria remained key actors and were a critical part of the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

The CBN was mindful of concerns expressed about the eNaira, being among the first central banks digital currencies in the world.

CBN had put a structure in place to promptly address any issue that might arise from the pilot implementation of the eNaira.