By Leshi Adebayo
Since its launch in October, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revealed that the eNaira app has recorded 600,000 downloads in less than four weeks.
CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele made this known at the 56th Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria Annual Bankers Dinner, held at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos, on Friday.
Emefiele said, “In less than 4 weeks since its launch, almost 600,000 downloads of the e-Naira application have taken place.
“Efforts are ongoing to encourage faster adoption of the e-Naira by Nigerians who do not have smartphones.
“The support of the financial industry will be critical in the ongoing deployment of the e-Naira and efforts are ongoing to encourage continued partnership between the CBN and stakeholders in the financial industry.”
He noted that the main objective of the CBN is to build a robust payment system that would provide cheap, efficient, and faster means of conducting payments for most Nigerians.
In this regard, the CBN governor said, “The growing pace of digitization globally, makes it essential that we leverage digital channels in fulfilling this objective.”
Emefiele stated that the total transaction volumes using digital channels more than doubled between 2018 and 2020, as these volumes rose from 1.3b to over 3.3bn financial transactions in 2020.
He revealed that digital payment channels had contributed to supporting conduct of business activities during the lockdown.
“Notwithstanding these gains, close to 36 per cent of adult Nigerians do not have access to financial services.”
“Improving access to finance for individuals and businesses through digital channels can help to improve financial inclusion, lower the cost of transactions, and increase the flow of credit to households and businesses,” the CBN governor added.
