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On Monday, 25 October 2021, Nigeria launched Africa’s first central bank digital currency (CBDC) eNaira, with the theme “Same Naira, More Possibilities”.
The eNaira, which was activated the same day by President Muhammad Buhari, promises to increase remittances, foster cross-border trade, improve financial inclusion and enable the government to make welfare payments more easily, amongst other benefits.
Users can access the eNaira through a mobile app, which offers a digital wallet that connects to a user’s bank account. Transactions are primarily completed by sharing and scanning QR codes or a short payment code that is unique for each transfer. Users without a bank account can register for an eNaira wallet, but they are restricted to a maximum of 50,000 naira ($120) worth of transactions daily — banked users can go up to 500,000 naira ($1,200).
It’s been a year since the eNaira was launched and records show it has not been a complete success, as one of the largest issues currently facing the eNaira is its adoption among citizens.
For example, in a report by Bloomberg, a privately held financial, software, data, and media company, it was discovered that less than 0.5 percent of Nigerians are using digital currency. This means fewer than one in 200 people in Nigeria are active users of the eNaira. This is despite having a year to promote and encourage the adoption of the CBDC.
