The Central Bank of Nigeria has stated that the eNaira’s fourth phase will lead to offline and cross-border payment solutions.
This was disclosed by the Director, Information Technology Department, CBN, Mrs Rakiya Mohammed, at the licensed payment service providers’ engagement session in Lagos on Monday.
She charged licensed PSPs to build additional products and services across the full spectrum of the financial system utilizing eNaira while asking them to establish other use cases for the eNaira.
What the CBN is saying
Mohammed said, “The full implementation of the eNaira would be done in four phases, culminating in offline eNaira payments solutions, cross-border payment and interoperability of the eNaira with those of other central banks.”
She asked payment service providers (including the broad community of fintech groups) to develop solutions for offline eNaira functionalities, such as cards, wearables and USSD, and to discover more inventive ways to support members of the public in the onboarding process and use of eNaira, where possible.
She made it clear that the CBN was not in competition with the Deposit Money Banks or any other players in the Nigerian payment system.
The session also presented value-added ideas for the market and integration process to promote financial inclusion by bridging the gap between the banked and unbanked.
The event, Mohammed said, was part of the CBN’s plan to bring all stakeholders on board, adding that the central bank was open to recommendations and innovation aimed at improving the user experience and adding value to the eNaira.