eNaira

 

eNaira

“Nigeria has become the first country in Africa, and one of the first in the world to introduce a digital currency to her citizens, the adoption of the central bank digital currency and its underlying technology, called blockchain, can increase Nigeria’s gross domestic product by $29 billion over the next 10 years.” The International Monetary Fund projects GDP for Africa’s largest economy to be $480 billion in 2021. (Al Jazeera Media Network)

Nigeria joins 14 other countries now in the pilot stages with their own central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), including China, Sweden, and South Korea, with a total of 81 countries in other stages of exploring CBDCs. (Tech Crunch)

A CBDC is a virtual money backed and issued by a central bank. As cryptocurrencies and stable coins have become more popular, the world’s central banks have realized that they need to provide an alternative—or let the future of money pass them by. (Atlantic Council)

CBDCs can simplify the implementation of monetary and fiscal policy and promote financial inclusion in an economy by bringing the unbanked into the financial system. (Investopedia)

(UNICEF) Central bank digital currencies: foundational principles and core features

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osZ7BKEXt4I 

#eNaira is a Central Bank of Nigeria-issued digital currency that provides a unique form of money denominated in Naira. eNaira serves as both:

1. A medium of exchange and;

2. A store of value, offering better payment prospects in retail transactions when compared to cash payments. 

https://www.enaira.gov.ng/about 

DESIGN PAPER FOR THE eNAIRA - https://enaira.com/download/eNaira_Design_Paper.pdf 

According to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) - 

eNaira fosters economic growth by offering easier access to capital and financial services thereby increasing economic activities at low/no interest transaction rates.

eNaira provides a secure and cheaper diaspora remittance option and an increase in the speed of such transactions.

CBDCs have the potential to enhance the efficiency of cross-border payments, as long as countries work together. This is the main conclusion of a joint report https://www.bis.org/publ/othp38.pdf released by the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures, the BIS Innovation Hub, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank. (BIS)

eNaira's traceability limits its use for illicit or fraudulent purposes.

eNaira enables the effective, equitable, and faster distribution of cash assistance to households and communities included in government Social Welfare Programs.

eNaira provides financial inclusion by making financial services available to people or communities who do not have (enough) banking opportunities.

eNaira increases Local and International Trade by making transactions cheap, safe, quick, and better.

eNaira FEATURES:

1. Unified Payment System - Customers can now move money from their bank account to their eNaira wallet with ease.

2. Contactless Payment - Customers can make in-store payments using their eNaira wallet by scanning QR codes.

3. Bank Account Management - Customers can monitor their eNaira wallet, check balances, and view transaction history.

4. Peer-to-Peer Payment - Allows users to send money to one another through a linked bank account or card.

eNaira launch: Here’s why millions of Nigerians cannot access the app

https://quillcastleng.com/2021/10/enaira-launch-heres-why-millions-of-people-cannot-access-the-app/ 

CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM can guide you away from bad practices and towards good ones. Try to be objective and look at what you're providing as though it's not yours. This can be particularly difficult when you're deeply involved in a project but, if you can take a step back, you might see how to improve your way of working and avoid any negative outcomes down the road. Did you need a more specific brief? Was there something you missed in the early stages of the project? Is the performance deadline too unrealistic? (The Guardian)

The tech teams behind the App are making it difficult for Nigerians to onboard the new innovation of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The bottlenecks are in the Sign-up stage, and with just the combination of both the Bank Account Number and Phone Number, everyone should be on the platform.

Why ask for First Name, Last Name, Date of Birth, State of Origin e.t.c. when you can consume accurate data along the way?

Most Bank Accounts are already connected to a BVN, why ask for it again?

And if the objective is double-validation, just to be sure you get things right, why not get that sorted out when the customers or users are already in the building?

After all, they will eventually rely on the bank to fund the eNaira wallet.

The eNaira initiative is one of the best innovations that may salvage the country from so many challenges i.e.

(a) Cheaper diaspora remittances.

(b) More effective distribution of cash to households and communities, no more palliatives tsunami.

(c) Improved confidence in business transactions from Nigeria.

(d) FX stability e.t.c.

The CBN deserves some great accolades, and this is also a boost for the tech guys on the project, you need to be on your best game. 👌

You are not building an App for an SMB, you are building an App for the country, you have to remove lots of bottlenecks that constitute barriers to on-board, while also improvising by leveraging on already existing APIs. 

I hope you know that if smartphone users are these challenged with the onboarding process, what do you think will happen to non-tech savvy users with feature phones?

I hope this was useful and informative.

Thank you.

Aderogba Otunla

REFERENCES & BIBLIOGRAPHY

Al Jazeera Media Network. “Nigeria becomes first African nation to roll out digital currency.” Nigeria becomes the first African nation to roll out digital currency, 25 October 2021, https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/10/25/nigeria-becomes-first-african-nation-to-roll-out-digital-money. Accessed 26 October 2021.

Atlantic Council. “Central Bank Digital Currency Tracker.” Central Bank Digital Currency Tracker, Atlantic Council, 22 July 2021, https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/cbdctracker/. Accessed 26 October 2021.

BIS. “Central bank digital currencies for cross-border payments.” Central bank digital currencies for cross-border payments, BIS, 2021, https://www.bis.org/publ/othp38.htm. Accessed 26 October 2021.

The Guardian. “Six reasons why criticism is a good thing.” Six reasons why criticism is a good thing, 9 February 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/culture-professionals-network/culture-professionals-blog/2012/feb/09/reasons-tips-criticism-arts.

Investopedia. “Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).” CRYPTOCURRENCY STRATEGY & EDUCATION, Investopedia, 25 August 2021, https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/central-bank-digital-currency-cbdc.asp. Accessed 26 October 2021.

Tech Crunch. “Nigeria follows China’s footsteps in piloting digital currency.” Nigeria follows China’s footsteps in piloting digital currency, 25 October 2021, https://techcrunch.com/2021/10/25/nigeria-follows-chinas-footsteps-in-piloting-digital-currency/.

UNICEF. “Central bank digital currencies: foundational principles and core features.” Central bank digital currencies: foundational principles and core features, UNICEF, 25 June 2021, https://gdc.unicef.org/resource/central-bank-digital-currencies-foundational-principles-and-core-features. Accessed 26 October 2021.