Things to know as CBN’s eNaira debuts today
Finally the Central Bank of Nigeria will launch the country’s digital currency, the eNaira today, Monday 25th of October.
It would be recalled that the CBN’s Director of Communication, Mr. Osita Nwanisobi announced a postponement of the launch of Nigeria’s digital currency, the eNaira, previously scheduled to hold on October 1, 2021.
It was gathered that the unanticipated surge in visits on the website of the Central Bank’s eNaira initiative led to the sudden postponement of the launch.
Also, while the eNaira was facing heated litigation over its trademark infringement on the name “eNiara,” a Federal High Court in Abuja gave the nod for the CBN to roll out the digital currency.
Despite the delay in the launch of the much-anticipated eNaira, it appears that banks have started to onboard the e-Naira feature on their applications, hence, individuals should be able to convert their Naira to eNaira with their bank application.
The CBN stated earlier that the eNaira is meant to create a secure and cost-effective process for remittance inflow to the country, amongst other benefits.
When compared to FIAT, the eNaira has a lower cost. The account holder is not charged for daily transfers between accounts. The fact that traders will not be charged fees for withdrawals and deposits to and from their bank account is a huge incentive. Transaction fees are eliminated, lowering the cost of doing business while increasing security.
The apex bank also stated that eNaira’s usability would improve as Nigerians without internet-enabled phones would be able to transact without having to subscribe to data or having an internet-enabled phone.
The CBN has also stated that the eNaira can serve as a medium for the government to send direct payments to citizens eligible for specific welfare programs.
The eNaira shall be administered by the CBN through the Digital Currency Management System (DCMS) to mint and issue eNaira.
Financial institutions shall maintain a treasury eNaira wallet for holding and managing eNaira on the DCMS.
The Financial institutions (FI) Suite is the primary application used by the FIs to manage their digital currency holdings, requests, and redemption with the CBN.
The eNaira stock wallet belongs solely to the CBN and it shall warehouse all minted eNaira.
Two-factor authentication and other measures shall be adopted to ensure the security of the eNaira wallet.
The charges for eNaira transactions shall be in line with the Guide to Charges by Banks, Other Financial and Non-bank Financial Institutions.
The eNaira is equivalent to the physical Naira, it is the official tender of Nigeria and is a liability of the CBN. The eNaira and Naira will always be exchanged 1:1, meaning it would only appreciate when the Naira is stronger.
