Recent reports reveal that Nigerians increasingly turned to the nation’s digital currency eNaira as transaction value jumped a whopping 63% to N22 billion ($48 million) amid the ongoing cash crunch bedeviling the country.

The number of eNaira wallets is reported to have jumped more than 12-fold to 13 million since October last year.

Speaking on the recent surge in the adoption of the eNaira, Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele said the eNaira has emerged as the electronic payment choice for financial inclusion and executing social interventions.

He further noted that the Naira circulation in the country had dropped to around 1 trillion Naira from 3.2 trillion Naira in September 2022. Hence, to bridge this deficit, he disclosed that more than 10 billion Naira of the CBN’s digital currency has been minted so far, and about 3.4 billion Naira is in circulation.

The increased rate of the eNaira adoption in Nigeria doesn’t come as a surprise owing to the fact that Nigerians have been struggling with a crippling cash shortage since the CBN policy to redesign the higher denominations (N200, N500, N1,000) of the naira notes.

Currency in circulation slumped to about 1 trillion naira from N3.28 trillion in December 2022 to N1.38 trillion in January and an estimated N982.09 billion in February 2023 representing a 235 percent decline. The shortage of cash has left many individuals in the country of about 218 million struggling to pay for basic needs. Investors King understands that Nigeria which has a $220 billion informal economy, thrives on cash transaction. 

Recall that the eNaira was launched by the Central Bank of Nigeria in October 2021, which saw Nigeria become the first country in Africa to launch its digital currency. The CBN disclosed that the eNaira was introduced to increase remittances, foster cross-border trade, improve financial inclusion and enable the government to make welfare payments more easily.

The launch of the CBN digital currency however came as a surprise to a lot of Nigerians, as the CBN has been suspicious of cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, after it issued a directive that prohibited banks from taking part in financial transactions involving cryptocurrencies, which many Nigerians often use as a hedge against naira depreciation.

At the initial launch of the eNaira, it was faced with widespread rejection and less usage from Nigerians. A year after the launch of the eNaira, less than 0.5% of Nigerians were using it. In a bid to encourage the digital currency adoption at the grassroots level, the CBN offered Keke NAPEP (tricycle taxis) and their customers a 5% discount for using the CBDC as means of payment.

In November 2022 one year after the eNaira launch, the CBN celebrated 700,000 completed eNaira transactions valued at ₦8 billion ($17.4 million). If the shortage of cash persists in the country, it is not far-fetched to say that the eNaira transaction rate would record another significant increase.

The Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN) has disclosed that e-Naira transaction volume rose to a record N5 billion in the month of November following a series of campaigns initiated to encourage adoption.

Investors King had earlier reported how the e-Naira adoption team visited a number of parks in Abuja and the University of Lagos among other locations to drive the adoption of the digital currency. 

Speaking at the Second Edition of the Africa Cashless Payment Conference, CBN’s Director of Information and Technology, Hajiya Rakiya Mohammed noted that transaction on the e-naira platform does not attract any charges. 

She stated that Nigeria’s financial ecosystem is large to accommodate everyone.

Hajia Rakiya added that the e-Naira platform can be operated in any of Nigeria’s major local languages, stating that onboarding onto the e-Naira platform is a simple process. 

She further stressed that the primary goal of the e-naira is to reduce the amount of cash in circulation, thereby downsizing the cost of producing paper currency, increase in revenue and direct disbursement to citizens.

Meanwhile, the e-Naira circulation has reached N401.82 million as more Nigerians embraced the digital currency. 

It could be recalled that on October 25, 2021, CBN launched the e-Naira making Nigeria the first African country to have a digital currency. 

During the unveiling of the e-Naira in Abuja, President Muhammadu Buhari stated that the digital naira would increase remittances, foster cross-border trade, improve financial inclusion and enable the government to make welfare payments more easily.

On his part, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele disclosed that the e-Naira offered Nigerians endless possibilities in using financial services. 

While admonishing more Nigerians to embrace the digital naira, Hajia Rakiya noted that “both banked and unbanked can use it, and it can be done through USSD *997#. We have integrated it with telecoms and NIBBS instant payments plus integration with money transfer operations so you can use e-naira for cross border”.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has taken the drive for e-Naira to the University of Lagos. The apex bank intends to sensitise and engage students as advocates of the digital currency.

According to the CBN, students are a critical factor in the adoption of e-Naira. The bank noted that the e-Naira is accepted as the naira notes while it can also be used to pay school fees. 

Speaking at the event, Director Information Technology Department, CBN/Co-ordinator Technical Working Committee e-Naira Secretariat, Hajiya Rakiya Mohammed who was represented by Dr. Khalifa Nuhu noted that the Central Bank has engaged several groups and organisations as part of the strategy to make e-Naira popular among Nigerians. 

The e-Naira adoption team also paid a courtesy visit to the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor Oluwatoyin T. Ogundipe, FAS, at his office. 

The team noted that the University of Lagos was selected as the pioneer institution for the onboarding exercise because the school is progressive and innovation-driven. 

Investors King had earlier reported that the e-Naira adoption team visited the tricycle driver in Abuja to inform them about the e-Naira platform.

While speaking at the awareness program in Abuja, the adoption team disclosed a 5 percent transaction discount for any tricycle driver who uses the e-Naira platform. The team added that any tricycle customer who uses the e-Naira platform to make payment will also enjoy the same discount. 

In another development, the Central Bank has disclosed that it will engage 7,740 e-Naira agents across the country as part of its efforts to boost adoption. 

The apex bank noted that it will install and engage a minimum of 10 e-Naira agents from each of the 774 local governments in Nigeria to make up for the targeted number. 

It will be recalled that the e-Naira was officially launched by President Muhammad Buhari, on October 25, 2021. It has a slogan of “Same Naira, More Possibilities” which symbolises the same quality as the naira note but with enhanced functionality.