The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has partnered with Clickatell, an international fintech company, to boost its eNaira services. This means that Clickatell will be the technical partner for the CBN’s digital currency, eNaira, which will be announced later this year. All Nigerians will be able to get fast, easy, and cheap banking services through the USSD channel, even if they don’t have data and are using a different phone.
This partnership will help the country achieve its goal of increasing financial inclusion by making sure that all Nigerians have access to basic banking services.
Nigeria eNaira
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari introduced the eNaira in October 2021. He said that Africa’s first digital currency backed by a central bank would help increase remittances, make cross-border trade more accessible, and make it easier for the government to pay out welfare.
He also said that he thinks the CBDC will increase the country’s GDP by $29 billion over the next ten years. Financial inclusion is at the heart of the eNaira goals, so he thinks the CBDC will help the country achieve those goals.
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Mr Daniel Awe, Head of AFF, to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), also affirmed that “Introducing the USSD short code allows non-banked Nigerians, many of whom do not have smartphones, to access cashless banking services and is a big win for the stated goals of delivering meaningful financial inclusion.”
Read also: Nigeria’s Central Bank Partner AFF To Deepen eNaira
One of the major achievements of our engagements in Nigeria has been the role Clickatell played in making this a reality. Uzo Nwani, Clickatell’s Commercial Director for West Africa, said that the country should use the eNaira more often because it has helped more people access money, improved the digital economy, and boosted economic activity.
How will the eNaira work?
In a presentation to Nigerian banks, the CBN went into more detail about how the eNaira project is designed and works. The event addresses the currency’s operational integrity.
In the full presentation about the e-Naira initiative that was given to Nigerian banks, it was said that there would be a limit on the number of transactions that clients could make, that CBDC accounts would not earn interest, and that there would be a limit on the amount that could be in an account.
The Send & Receive component has a maximum of $50,000; the only prerequisite is the individual’s National Identity Number (NIN), which will be authenticated. Each day, a cumulative balance of three hundred thousand naira is fixed.
The banks could ask all clients to use e-Naira. Banks can offer onboarding invitation codes to a specific group of customers. Bank-coded customers will be onboarded.
The eNaira wallet can be created by dialling *997*. After that, users can check accounts, transfer funds, and buy airtime or data for themselves or their families. Users can verify and update their wallet information, alter and reset their pin, or block the wallet if needed.
Nigeria is still not fully banked
It is necessary for developing communities, where it is used to provide services at far lower costs and without requiring access to the SIM card.
Despite the rapid growth of smartphones, the majority of Nigerians mostly use feature phones, making the USSD service an excellent choice. The CBN expects the new route to rapidly advance toward bringing the bulk of Nigeria’s 30% banking services into the formal banking system.
As part of its efforts to increase awareness and education about the new digital currency, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is granting 200 eNGN airtime to the very first 100,000 customers who register using the eNaira USSD feature.
Nwani believes that the Clickatell solution effectively places the system for new and collaborative additions, which will help improve the eNaira services. “Our Chat Flow software serves as the foundation for rapid innovation. Digital currencies provide measurable customer benefits, such as lower costs and a simple user experience, and the introduction of new innovative features over time will undoubtedly attract more customers. Without a doubt, the CBN has set the standard for financial inclusion in Africa, and we look forward to being a part of that effort. “