Nigeria’s eNaira central bank digital currency (CBDC) has reached the one year mark, with International Monetary Fund (IMF) presenting a working paper on the CBDC’s first year of performance, as stated by Cointelegraph.
According to Cointelegraph, in October, 2021, eNaira became the second global CBDC to be unveiled post Bahamian Sand Dollar. The paper stated that eNaira’s retail segment was intermediated but didn’t incur problems with regard to latency. As per IMF authorities, Central Bank of Nigeria initiated a phased introduction expanding financial inclusivity to unbanked and facilitating remittances.
Based on Cointelegraph’s information, exploration of the timeline found a sum total of 802,000 conducted transactions. “Like any network products with similar traits (e.g., credit card), breaking the initial low adoption equilibrium requires mix of clever strategies and luck,” the paper stated. It’s believed that mobile money operators (MMOs) linkage with eNaira has been upheld in the paper.
Moreover, Cointelegraph noted that IMF highlighted eNaira’s inability to handle remittances, but spoke on how it can be tackled through international money transfer operators’ receiving of eNaira wallets. Sources suggest that the paper emphasised on amplifying eNaira usage through social payment with regard to MMOs for growth of social cash transfer system and enhancement in adoption.
(With regard to Cointelegraph)