Nigerian Central Bank Slashes CBDC Transaction Fees by 50%

The Central Bank of Nigeria has said it is slashing transaction fees for the e-naira platform by 50% — a move which the bank claims will increase the volume of transactions on the central bank digital currency (CBDC) platform. The central bank also believes that wider adoption of the CBDC will bolster Nigeria’s cross-border trade volumes.

Boosting E-Commerce Transaction Volumes

In yet another move aimed at boosting the embrace and adoption of the e-naira central bank digital currency (CBDC), the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) reportedly said it will slash the service fees incurred by individuals and merchants using the digital currency platform by 50%.

In addition, Nigerian businesses signing on to become e-naira merchants have an opportunity to increase the volumes of their respective e-commerce transactions by 50%, a report has said.

Quoting Kingsley Obiora, the central bank’s deputy governor, a Daily Trust report suggests that Nigerian businesses adopting the CBDC could improve cash management and potentially boost the country’s cross-border trade volumes. Obiora said:

Also, the implementation of cross-border transactions in phase 3 of the e-naira project is expected to increase cross-border trade by about 30%. Furthermore, the lower transaction cost is expected to increase the usage (transaction volume and value) of eNaira and improve income generation by businesses.

Deepening Financial Inclusion

The remarks by Obiora, who reportedly spoke at a merchant onboarding event, come just days after CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele revealed that the CBDC had less than 1 million users. However, as reported by Bitcoin.com news, the CBN is now targeting a tenfold increase in the number of e-naira users.

To achieve this, Emefiele said the central bank would add a feature that enables users without bank accounts and smartphones to access the CBDC. The CBN has since unveiled an unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) code which it says will deepen financial inclusion.

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