In an effort to drive a cashless economy, the Central Bank of Nigeria has suggested the use of eNaira for cash transfers during the National Social Safety Net Programme Scale Up.
This was according to the National FinTech Strategy document obtained from the website of the CBN. The strategy document was created by the National Financial Inclusion Steering Committee, chaired by the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
The document revealed that the eNaira can be pre-programmed for payments to the poor and vulnerable on the social register. It read, “The central bank can use a pre-programmed eNaira to pay intended beneficiaries on the social register, which could be accepted only for a specific purpose and at specifically authorised locations.
“This use case will ensure the proper use of social funds, ensure high-quality data can be collected on the performance of these programs, and help to prevent leakage or diversion of funds.
This capability could be extended to other use cases in financial services and related ecosystems, where there exists a priority to maintain the integrity of funds and the purpose for which it is used.”
The CBN launched its Central Bank Digital Currency, eNaira, on October 25, 2021, to drive financial inclusion, payments systems efficiency improvements covering remittances and social intervention, and revenue and tax collections.