Pat Stevens/
The the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) has deferred the official launch of its Dicital Currency, the eNaira.
The spokesman of the bank, Mr. Osita Nwanisobi, said today that the planned unveiling slated for tomorrow has now been deferred due to other key activities lined up to commemorate the country’s 61st independence anniversary.
The apex bank has not announced a new date for the launch.
Nwanisobi explained that the CBN took the decision to postpone the launch, which had been initially planned to coincide with the Independence anniversary, in deference to the mood of national rededication to the collective dream of One Nigeria.
While assuring that there was no cause for alarm, he said the CBN and other partners were working round the clock to ensure a seamless process that will be for the overall benefit of the customer, particularly those in the rural areas and the unbanked population.
Highlighting the benefits of the eNaira, Nwanisobi stressed that Nigerians would ease peer-to-peer transfer to another person’s eNaira wallet, as well as, pay for goods and services at selected merchants, once launched.
He added that the eNaira would also help reduce the use of cash and ensure stability of the Nigerian economy.
On the readiness of banks and other financial institutions in the financial ecosystem for the launch of the eNaira, he reiterated that eNaira was a journey, explaining that not all banks customers were expected to commence transaction on the day of the launch.
He, however, assured that financial institutions in Nigeria remained key actors and were a critical part of the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
Nwanisobi also noted that the CBN was mindful of concerns expressed about the eNaira, being among the first central banks digital currencies in the world.
According to him, the CBN had put a structure in place to promptly address any issue that might arise from the pilot implementation of the eNaira.
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