E-naira wallet will address cash scarcity, challenges faced by unbanked Nigerians — CBN

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has assured Nigerians that the introduction of the eNaira wallet will address the scarcity of cash and the challenges faced by unbanked Nigerians.

The apex bank said it will also help to transact without having to go through the difficulties of maybe having cash at hand or having to look for one of those banks out there to transact.

The Special Assistant on payment to the Governor of the Central Bank, Mrs Mary Fasheitan stated this in Akure, Ondo state, during sensitisation of traders and people of the state on the need to embrace the cashless platform for transactions.

She explained that CBN in collaboration with the Bankers Committee organised the sensitization for people to understand all the benefits that the naira brought to the banking system.

According to her, it is a good opportunity to key into the initiative, saying it’s seamless and can be done anywhere, adding that the platform could be used for all economic transactions without any charge.

She said the initiative enables customers to use the unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) code *997*50# to carry out all banking transactions.

Also, customers can fund their eNaira wallets with cash-purchased vouchers like GSM recharge cards or from a funded bank account.

Nollywood star and actor, Gabriel Afolayan, said the eNaira wallet would add value to Nigerian currency beyond the physical one.

According to Afolayan, the platform would enable Nigerian residents to move around without being scared, urging Nigerians to embrace it and use it, saying it was the next level to seamless transactions.

One of the users of the eNaira wallet, Mr Kenneth Batusi, described it as a laudable initiative, saying it enabled him to save more. That money transfer was easier on the platform.

Batusi asked the major players in the sector to strengthen the banking internet for users to enjoy the platform’s benefits.

Another user of the platform, Mrs Esther Adesola, said she had criticized the initiative earlier but realized its benefits over physical currency, saying the digital currency saved time and will help the cashless policy to thrive.