Nigerian banks impede e-Naira adoption over concerns it will impact banking revenue

Nigerian banks I’m reluctant Promote e-Naira, Nigeria’s low-cost central bank digital currency, due to concerns about loss of revenue.

E-Naira offers a fee-free alternative to traditional money transfers. However, since the currency was launched in October 2021, only 700,000 users have created e-Naira wallets. Given that Nigeria has nearly 55 million bank accounts, this number is incredibly small.

Creditors are reluctant

Godwin Emefiere, Nigeria’s central bank governor, commented on the low hiring rate, saying:

“I’m indifferent [towards e-Naira] At the bank. “

Nigerian banks have invested heavily in digital banking services to generate additional fee-based sources of income. Overall, everything e-Naira offers provides a low-cost alternative to remittances, and deposits in the e-Naira wallet are not counted as cash in the lender’s books, thus damaging these investments.

Currently, the e-Naira wallet is only available to bank customers.Central Bank of Nigeria is working with Africa’s largest mobile network operator to increase recruitment MTN Group Provides access to the e-Naira wallet for Nigerians who do not have a bank account.

Emefiere mentioned the new project and said it was an “almost final test”.

Cryptocurrency Nigeria

Nigeria is one of the countries with the highest adoption of cryptocurrencies. In 2021, Nigeria was one of the countries that drove the growth of 880% of the world’s cryptocurrencies in a year. At that time, 24.2% of all Nigerians invested in at least one digital asset, but Bitcoin was the most popular option with over 60%.

Gemini’s 2022 Global Cryptocurrency State report Showed that the country’s ownership rose to 26% in 2022. In addition, 63% of Nigerians believe that cryptography is the future of money. More than 44% of non-crypto owners also say they are interested in buying crypto next year.

Society is confident in how they feel about cryptography, but the Nigerian government seems to be in the middle. The country decided to work on e-Naira in September 2021. At the time, officials said they were considering making e-naira a legal tender because “85% of central banks are considering adopting digital currencies in their own countries.”

A month later, the government announced an indefinite suspension of the e-Naira project because “other important activities lined up to commemorate the country’s 61st anniversary.”

Anyway, e-Naira was launched in October of the same month.

Approximately two weeks after the launch of e-Naira, the central bank of Nigeria ordered the state’s financial institutions to close all crypto-related bank accounts.

Currently, crypto-related bank accounts continue to be banned while crypto transactions are legal in the country.