The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced plans to expand the use of its digital currency, eNaira, for government transactions. This move will enable Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to make vendor and beneficiary payments using eNaira.
In its newly released Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade, and Exchange Policy Guidelines for Fiscal Years 2024-2025, the CBN stated, “The CBN shall continue to work towards enabling the use of eNaira Wallet/Channels by payers to pay into government accounts at the CBN, and allow MDAs to initiate vendor/beneficiary payments from their respective eNaira wallets.”
The guidelines highlight that the CBN’s ongoing efforts to enhance eNaira adoption will facilitate government payments, improve financial inclusion, reduce fraud, and offer faster and cheaper payment options.
Furthermore, the CBN plans to launch eNaira version 2.0, which will include offline functionality and programmable money features. The update will also increase the involvement of deposit money banks, empowering them to drive the adoption of eNaira across both the public and private sectors.
The CBN is also collaborating with federal and state governments to promote the use of eNaira, aiming to increase its role in wholesale transactions through its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) initiative.
