… Forecasts $29 Billion Increase In GDP In Ten Years
President Muhammadu Buhari stated on Monday that he approved the creation of a digital currency known as the eNaira after weighing the benefits it will bring to the country.
He made the announcement in Abuja at the eNaira’s formal launch.
According to the President, actual cash has become less popular in recent years for conducting business and making payments.
The advent of the COVID-19 epidemic, he claimed, has worsened this trend, as has the rise of a new Digital Economy.
Businesses, households, and other economic players, according to Buhari, have sought new ways of making payments in light of these developments.
He said; ”The absence of a swift and effective solution to these requirements, as well as fears that Central Banks’ actions sometimes lead to hyperinflation created the space for non-government entities to establish new forms of “private currencies” that seemed to have gained popularity and acceptance across the world, including here in Nigeria.
”In response to these developments, an overwhelming majority of Central Banks across the world have started to consider issuing digital currencies in order to cater for businesses and households seeking faster, safer, easier and cheaper means of payments.
”A handful of countries including China, Bahamas, and Cambodia have already issued their own CBDCs.
”A 2021 survey of Central Banks around the world by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) found that almost 90 per cent are actively researching the potential for CBDCs, 60 percent were experimenting with the technology and 14 per cent were deploying pilot projects.
”Needless to add, close monitoring and close supervision will be necessary in the early stages of implementation to study the effect of eNaira on the economy as a whole.
”It is on the basis of this that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sought and received my approval to explore issuing Nigeria’s own Central Bank Digital Currency, named the eNaira,’’ he said.
He noted that his approval was also underpinned by the fact that the CBN has been a leading innovator ‘‘in the form of money they produce, and in the payment services they deploy for efficient transactions.’’
Stressing that Nigeria’s apex bank has invested heavily in creating a Payment System that is ranked in the top ten in the world and certainly the best in Africa.
”This payment system now provides high‐value and time‐critical payment services to financial institutions, and ultimately serves as the backbone for every electronic payment in Nigeria.
”They have also supported several private‐sector initiatives to improve the existing payments landscape, and in turn, have created some of the world’s leading payment service providers today,’’ he said.
