THE Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele, has expressed optimism that the bank will achieve the 85 per cent financial inclusion rate target in Nigeria, within a very short period from its current rate of slightly below 70 per cent.
A statement from the CBN on Monday said Emefiele spoke in Abuja at the bank’s head office, while receiving a delegation of executive directors from the Bank of Uganda, who were on an experience sharing tour of the CBN’s Central Bank Digital Currency.
He said the CBN was committed to accelerating the rate at which those who were financially excluded could come into the formal banking sector.
Emefiele expressed satisfaction that the country’s CBDC, the eNaira, had recorded some level of success judging by the rate of integration and security features.
The CBDC, he added, would enhance the relationship between mobile banking and e-business and speed up the rate of financial inclusion.
Emefiele also noted that the interest that the novel eNaira was attracting from other countries and multinational bodies such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, underscored the level and quality of work the CBN had put into the project.
Although he noted that Nigeria, being the first country in Africa to launch its CBDC, was a case study to other climes, he said the country was treading cautiously to ensure it sustains the successes recorded thus far.
