The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reiterated its determination to widen access to digital financial services across the country, with renewed efforts to revitalise the eNaira platform.
Introduced in October 2021 as part of Nigeria’s financial inclusion drive, the eNaira has struggled to gain widespread adoption. The CBN has attributed its limited uptake to inadequate public awareness about how the platform works and is now working to enhance its infrastructure and visibility.
Speaking at a recent fair in Lagos themed “Driving Alternative Payment Channels as Tools for Financial Inclusion, Growth and Accelerated Economic Development”, the CBN’s Lagos Branch Controller, Sunday Daibo, outlined the apex bank’s strategy to bring more Nigerians into the digital payment ecosystem.
His words: “In a world where technology is reshaping economies and redefining how people interact with financial services, alternate financial services have emerged not as an option, but as a necessity. They are the bridges connecting the underserved populations to the formal financial system.”
He added: *“Today’s gathering brings together policy makers, financial institutions, FinTech innovators, merchants and the public, all stakeholders in a single mission to make financial access to the person and to ensure that every Nigerian, regardless of location or status, can participate in and benefit from our nation’s economic project progress.
“Over the years, we have seen our mobile money platforms, agency banking networks, USSD services, internet banking contracts, contactless payments, central bank digital currency, and, most recently, open banking, have broken the barriers of distance costs and complexity.”*
Through these initiatives, the CBN aims to ensure that digital payment channels not only expand but also become more accessible, reliable, and integrated into everyday financial activity.
