The Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has disclosed that from next week, Nigerians would be able to transact on eNaira wallet through the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data code on mobile phones. Speaking at the Grand Finale of the 2022 eNaira Hackathon in Abuja on Thursday, Mr. Emiefele also stated that Nigerians will only have to dial *997# from their phones to carry out transactions on their phones.
Launched by President Muhammadu Buhari on October, 2021, the eNaira is a Central bank digital currency issued and regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Denominated in naira, the eNaira serves as both a medium of exchange and a store of value and claims to offer better payment prospects in retail transactions when compared to cash.
Aside from transacting, Emefiele said Nigerians can also open an eNaira wallet on any phone of their choice through the designated USSD code.
“Nigerians, both banked and unbanked, will be able to open an eNaira wallet and conduct transactions by simply dialling *997 from their phones.
“Shortly after this, both merchants and consumers with bank accounts can use the NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) to transfer and receive eNaira to any bank account.
“This will further deepen the integration of the eNaira with the existing national payment infrastructure”.
