The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has scored the adoption of eNaira digital currency introduced by the bank by Nigerians high
CBN Controller, Enugu branch, Ch’Edozie Okonjo, gave the assessment while delivering a keynote paper titled, ‘Implications of eNaira on the Nigerian Economy,’ during the 2021 Annual Bankers Dinner and Lecture, organised by the Enugu State branch of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria
Ch’Dozie explained that the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift to virtual events and contactless payments across the globe, saying that the world had yet to return to the old normal system as the pandemic amplified the transition to a more digital world, which the global payment system remains a typical reference point.
He said that while the use of cash was declining both locally and globally, digital payments were rising significantly which necessitated the introduction of the eNaira, the Nigerian Central Bank Digital Currency.
He said, “The eNaira was launched to improve access to finance for individuals and businesses through digital channels to improve financial inclusion, lower the cost of transactions, and increase the flow of credit to households and businesses.”
Okonjo explained that the eNaira was aimed at providing “a fast, efficient and reliable payment option for households and business; provide a resilient, inclusive, innovative and competitive payment system, among others.”
He also said since the eNaira platform came alive, there has been overwhelming interest and encouraging response from Nigerians and other parties across the world.
He added:“So far, we have recorded over 583,000 consumer wallets and about 83,000 merchant wallets downloads, with downloads occurring in over 160 countries (per Google Play Store and Apple Store data). We have also recorded over 34,000 transactions amounting to over N188m. This numbers suggest the adoption rate has been excellent”.
Meanwhile,the apex bank has said that banks’ gross credit to the Nigerian economy increased to N23.5tn in November this year.
In a new report,the CBN said that the development boosted the Loan-to-Deposit ratio policy, which had resulted in a significant rise in loans provided by financial institutions.
According to the bank,total gross credit rose by over 21.1 percent over the past year, from N19.4tn to N23.5tn,adding that it created a N50bn target credit facility for affected households and small and medium enterprises through Nirsal Microfinance Bank, against which N363.5bn had been disbursed to over 767,000 Nigerian households and micro-businesses.
The apex bank mobilised key stakeholders in the Nigerian economy under the Private Sector Coalition Against COVID-19 team that raised N39.64bn to support the fight against the scourge.
The report said that the funds were used to support three key priority areas including the “development of 39 fully equipped isolation centres, including intensive care units and molecular testing labs and procurement of medical equipment such as PCR test kits across the country”.
Others were “provision of palliatives in the form of essential food items to 1.7 million households, an equivalent of eight million Nigerians; and improving awareness in rural awareness on the COVID-19 virus and capacity building for community health workers”.
The apex bank said it had also created a N1tn facility in loans to boost local manufacturing and production across critical sectors, of which 53 major manufacturing projects, 21 agriculture-related projects and 13 service projects were being funded from the facility.
The report added that it provided N100bn intervention fund for pharmaceutical companies and healthcare practitioners to expand and strengthen the capacity of the nation’s healthcare institutions.
It said:“We have increased this fund to N200bn to accommodate more players in the healthcare sector, such as phytomedicine practitioners and manufacturers of medical devices and vaccines.
“Our primary focus is to create a hub where medical officers can have access to diagnostic equipment to carry out quality medical services at an affordable price for Nigerians.”
