“CBN says cashless policy will boost economic opportunities for small businesses & rural communities to facilitate trade and improve livelihoods, thereby boosting economic growth.”

Biography:

After becoming the first African country to launch its own central bank digital currency in October 2021, Nigeria catapulted itself to the top of the list of countries across the world with a pro-crypto outlook. The country’s apex monetary authority, the Central Bank of Nigeria, has been instrumental in leading this digital transformation and is responsible for the successful launch and promotion of the eNaira CBDC.

The CBN has been leading the country’s crypto initiatives and is confident that the eNaira will drive financial inclusion, facilitate remittances, and usher Nigeria into formal economic expansion. The last aspect is important because the informal economy accounts for more than half of Nigeria’s GDP and employs more than 80% of the country’s population.

By introducing the account-based eNaira, the CBN hopes the CBDC will broaden Nigeria’s tax base and bring greater transparency to the informal payments industry. It has also innovated a tiered identity verification system to mitigate money laundering risks while allowing citizens to open a digital wallet even with registered SIM cards. The CBN is thus playing an increasingly vital role in portraying how crypto can transform economies.

Central Bank of Nigeria’s 2022:

With the eNaira receiving a strong response from Nigerian investors, the CBN actively promoted the use of the CBDC for day-to-day transactions and said it plans to increase adoption by over tenfold by expanding the current eligibility criteria. The central bank opened up the eNaira to unbanked Nigerians by allowing them to open eNaira digital wallets through an Unstructured Supplementary Service Data Code.

While the CBN clamped down on cryptocurrency transactions in the banking sector in early 2021, its efforts in 2022 established Nigeria’s willingness to experiment and even become an early adopter of blockchain technology. In fact, the country held discussions with Binance to create a virtual free zone focused on blockchain and the digital economy.

What’s more, the proposed Investments and Securities Act 2007 will make the Central Bank of Nigeria a supervisory body for all matters related to digital currencies and bring much-needed regulations that should spur further adoption. This bill will also recognize cryptocurrencies as capital for investment, a move that could establish Nigeria as one of the leading countries for cryptocurrency investments in the near future.

Central Bank of Nigeria’s 2023:

With the CBN leading an exhaustive effort to replace Nigeria’s fiat currency with new notes, the central bank will be ushering in the new year with a host of changes to the monetary system.

The CBN has been running mass media and social media campaigns to introduce Nigerians to the world of possibilities with the eNaira. Nigeria’s central bank will possibly further evolve the eNaira in 2023, making subtle changes and refinements to its design, regulatory framework and other aspects.