CBN reveals how e-Naira will boost cross-border trading in Nigeria

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Wednesday revealed how the digital currency, e-Naira, would boost cross-border trading in the country.

The apex bank will launch the pilot scheme on the digital currency in partnership with Bitt Inc., a Barbados-based financial technology company on October 1.

The CBN’s Director of Information Technology, Rakiya Mohammed, who spoke at a virtual forum of the committee on the e-business industry in Abuja, said the adoption of the digital currency would boost cross-border trade and enable the apex bank to formulate better macroeconomic policies.

She said: “If people adopt more of the usage of the e-Naira, then we will be able to have more data to formulate better macroeconomic policies.

READ ALSO: CBN orders traders, others to accept e-Naira, highlights benefits of digital currency

“And when countries come on board and create their own digital currencies then we will be able to have a faster exchange of currencies, and therefore we might be able to boost cross-border trade at a much lower cost.

“Of course, payment efficiency, even though we know that Nigeria has one of the best payment systems in the world, we will still be able to improve on that.

“We believe that the e-Naira will be a catalyst for the digital economy because the people who are outside the formal banking sector will be integrated.”

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