eNaira downloads have reached nearly 600,000 in less than four weeks – Emefiele

Mr Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), claims that the eNaira app has received nearly 600,000 downloads in less than four weeks since its October launch.

Emefiele made the announcement at the 56th Annual Bankers Dinner of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) on Friday night at the Federal Palace Hotel in Lagos.

“Nearly 600,000 downloads of the e-Naira application have occurred in less than 4 weeks since its launch.”

“Efforts are underway to encourage faster adoption of the e-Naira by Nigerians without smartphones.”

“The financial industry’s support will be critical in the ongoing deployment of the e-Naira, and efforts are ongoing to encourage continued partnership between the CBN and financial industry stakeholders,” he said.

The CBN governor stated that the apex bank’s focus has always been on developing a robust payment system that would provide cheap, efficient, and faster means of conducting payments for the majority of Nigerians.

According to him, “the increasing pace of digitization globally necessitates that we leverage digital channels in order to achieve this goal.”

According to Emefiele, total transaction volumes through digital channels more than doubled between 2018 and 2020, rising from 1.3 billion to over 3.3 billion financial transactions in 2020.

He also stated that digital payment channels aided in the continuation of business operations during the lockdown.

He stated that the banking sector’s robust payment system has continued to evolve to meet the needs of Nigerian households and businesses, reflecting confidence in our payment system, indicating that approximately US$900 million has been invested in firms run by Nigerians between 2015 and September 2021.

“Despite these gains, nearly 36% of adult Nigerians do not have access to financial services.”

“Improving access to finance for individuals and businesses through digital channels can help to improve financial inclusion, lower transaction costs, and increase credit flow to households and businesses,” he emphasized.