CBN Reduces Minting Of Naira To Promote Electronic Banking Transactions

The increase in electronic banking transaction has made the Central Bank of Nigeria to reduce the minting of the Naira.

The CBN Deputy Governor, Economic Policy Directorate, Dr Kingsley Obiora said this on Thursday in Abuja at the Grand Finale of the eNaira Hackathon.

The Hackathon is an initiative that creates a collaborative environment for experts with a diverse set of skills to drive sustained innovation geared towards making the eNaira the pinnacle for digital financial services and the gateway to the Digital Economy.

It is intended to sought solutions that would drive financial inclusion, SME growth and the creation of start-ups; facilitate cross border trades and transfers as well as international remittances and foreign exchanges; effective implementation of welfare-inclined government programs; and enhance efficiency in the interbank market.

Thursday’s event is targeted at providing an engagement with critical stakeholders in the financial technology space to deepen the link between eNaira and Fintechs.

Speaking at the event, Obiora said that many major economies of the world have started reducing the use of cash as a form of business transactions.

He said in South Korea, 77 per cent of the people no longer use cash to do payment, while 30 per cent of the population in Phillipines don’t use cash as a form of exchange.

Obiora said in Nigeria, the reduction in the use of cash as a medium of exchange has led to an explosion in electronic businesses.

Specifically, the CBN Deputy Governor said that the value of e-business had grown from N393bn in 2014 to about N2.4trn currently.

He said, “In south Korea, 77per cent no longer use cash to do payment, while in the Philippines it is 30 per cent. In Nigeria too, we are also seeing the same decline in the use of cash, the minting of currencies in the CBN has been reducing in the last couple of years.

“So, alongside this reduction in the use of cash has also been an explosion in electronic business and e-business and we have seen the value of e-business grow from N393bn in 2014 to about N2.4trn now.

“And so, if you look at this movement, you will realize that the central banks in the world are responding to yearnings of citizens which is why citizens in 96 per cent of Central banks in the world are either working on digital currencies or they have done so already.”