eNaira: A Game Changer?
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently launched e-Naira to improve monetary policy, enhance government capacity to deploy targeted social intervention, and boost remittances through formal channels.
Following the adoption of digital currencies by the Central banks of countries such as the Bahamas, China, Sweden and Cambodia, the CBN also launched the eNaira in October, 2022. Some of the reasons cited for the introduction of the eNaira are to improve monetary policy, to boost remittance through formal channels and to enhance government capacity to deploy targeted social intervention.
While some have expressed negative sentiments over the benefits of the eNaira, others are confident that it is a futuristic move. One of the strong cons often pointed out is the role of the eNaira in driving financial inclusion especially with the low smartphone access rate in Nigeria which is still about 25%. There also seems to be no attractive benefits like the removal or even the reduction in transactional fees. For many, it's a case of doing a right project at the wrong time.
However, many proponents of the eNaira posit that not only would the eNaira help in lowering the cost of printing paper currency, it would also power the government's transfer payments initiatives.
In this report, we share comprehensive insight on the eNaira while also examining the pros and cons.