In the bid to further deepen adoption of the nation’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has asked Payment Service Banks, PSBs and Fintechs to develop and introduce products based on the e-Naira.
Director, Information Technology Department (ITD), CBN, Mrs Rakiya Mohammed, made this position known in Lagos at a one-day engagement session with PSPs and Fintech groups.
The participants at the session include representatives of PSPs, Switching and Processing companies; Mobile Money Operators; Payment Solution Service Provider; Payment Terminal Service Providers; and Super Agents.
Also present were representatives of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN); the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS); Shared Agent Network Expansion Facilities (SANEF); and the Committee of eBanking Industry Heads.
Addressing the meeting, Mohammed clarified that the CBN was neither competing with the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) nor other actors in the Nigerian payment system environment.
She explained that the engagement was in continuation of the apex bank’s strategy to bring all stakeholders on board what she described as a journey, noting that the CBN was open to suggestions and innovation aimed at adding value to the eNaira and improving the user experience.
She, therefore, urged the payment service providers (including the large community of Fintech groups) to find more innovative ways to support members of the public, where possible, in the onboarding process and use of eNaira as well as develop solutions for offline eNaira functions including cards, wearables, USSD, among others.
Vanguard News Nigeria
