The Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN),says its e-naira initiative billed for launch on October 1,this year, is a legal tender equal to the value of the naira and thus must be accepted as a form of payment by all merchants and business outlets in Nigeria
The apex bank’s Director, Payment System Management, Mr. Musa Jimoh, who disclised this in an interview,implored Nigerians to hive the initiative requisite support with a view to making it successful.
He said: “Today, anywhere you present naira to pay, compulsorily it must be accepted because that is our fiat currency. So, the same way naira is accepted that you can’t reject it, is the same way e-naira must be accepted. Anywhere in this country where e-naira is presented, it must be accepted. So, merchants must accept e-naira as a means of payment.”
He emphasized the need for Nigerians to open e-naira wallets which could be downloaded on their phones from October 1, stressing that the bank bears all the brunt.
He informed that Nigeria was ripe to adopt and cope with the technological challenges associated with the e-naira initiative.
He added: “E-naira is a journey. We don’t expect that on October 1, all business merchants in Nigeria will accept it. We don’t even expect that come October 1, all Nigerians will have e-naira. It is a journey. It will continue to grow.Remember there was a time in this country when you had to practically beg business outlets, merchants and others to accept POS transactions. But we have come to a point where traders now beg for POS terminals.”
He explained that e-naira comes with many benefits and would save the cost of printing more notes.
“Today the cost of producing the naira and coins is very high. It costs money to print naira in this country. Now, the minting of e-naira is electronic so it reduces cost,” Jimoh stated.
He added that charges of transferring funds would be lower for those using the e-naira.
