The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN announced the development of the enhanced eNaira service to address issues facing Nigerians with the Naira redesign policy.
The enhanced service is in collaboration with ChamsMobile Ltd. and Super Agents. This was revealed by Mr Bayo Akintoye, Founder/ Chief Executive Officer of Bullnet platform on Thursday in Lagos.
The eNaira enhanced service enables customers to operate the USSD channel *997*50# to carry out all banking transactions and be funded with cash-purchased vouchers like GSM recharge cards or from a funded bank account.
Enhanced services: Akintoye revealed that the service would be fully run and powered by the Bullnet platform and was developed to cushion the pains of the naira redesign which has caused a cash scarcity in the country, he added:
- “The CBN has collaborated with ChamsMobile Ltd., CBN licensed mobile money operator and Super Agents to address challenges faced primarily by the unbanked, the underserved and those on the other side of the digital divide by developing the service known as eNaira enhanced services, where the eNaira USSD channel *997*50# can be used to carry out all banking transactions.
- “This wallet can be funded directly using this platform with cash-purchased vouchers like GSM recharge cards or from a funded bank account using bank cards via the web portal that has been provided or using electronic payments with any authorised agents.”
No bank account needed: He added that the service also enables users to send eNaira directly from their wallets to an ATM and withdraw the cash equivalent without the need for a bank account, he said:
- “Users can also transfer eNaira from one wallet to another simply by putting in the recipient’s phone number.
- “This service also makes it possible for users to cash out by sending the eNaira directly from their wallets to an ATM and withdrawing the cash equivalent without the need for a bank account or bank card
- “The users can also send eNaira to a designated account for savings or further transactions.’’
Akintoye stated that it would also work with a network of Banking agents in Nigeria including Chamsmobile, Super Agents and other mobile money agents, and POS agents among others, who would sell eNaira vouchers to customers at a profit as well as onboarding new users.
He said the eNaira extension workers can buy and register SIMs and help customers that don’t have phones already to operate their wallets, even on their phones in case the customers are not able to buy their own phones.
- “They can help them to keep physical ledgers for eNaira transactions in places, where there are no mobile services or network.”
What you should know
The Central Bank of Nigeria revealed last December that the circulation of the e-naira had risen to N401.82 million as transaction volume rises from over N4 billion to N5 billion.
Hajiya Rakiya Mohammed, Director of Information and Technology at the CBN noted that the CBN prides the e-naira on being peer-to-peer, hence, no charges for now. She also disclosed that the financial system is big enough to accommodate everyone.
- “E-naira is easy to onboard, get it, fund it, use it, anyone can be on board with it. In Nigeria, we have had several drivers for IT growth; inclusive payment is a rallying driver for the CBN,” she said.
She added Nigerians can make instant payments, which has gone through quite a number of transformations, including mobile money instant payments, citing that these helped to drive digital transformation, citing that the e-naira is the same naira we have but in electronic form, is legal tender in Nigeria, and carries the same exact value as the current naira.
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