Chimara BygoldIN order to ensure that more Nigerians use the country’s newly launched digital currency eNaira, there are signs that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), will soon roll out a phone application for people without bank accounts.
The Chief Executive Officer of Bitt Inc., Brian Popelka confirmed this on phone in an interview with CoinDesk.
He said the present version of the eNaira app could only be used by people with bank accounts.
Bitt Inc. is the Central Bank of Nigeria’s technical partner for the digital currency, eNaira.
Prime Business Africa had earlier reported that Nigerians without Internet-enabled or Android phones will still make transactions on the eNaira platform.
The apex bank disclosed this in a document titled ‘Design paper for the eNaira’. According to the apex bank, eNaira was developed based on simplicity and ease of use to ensure that Nigerians without internet-enabled phones can access the service.
It explained that the approach would not further alienate sections of the population who are uneducated, lack exposure and access to internet services or digital devices.
Meanwhile,Popelka said, “In Nigeria, it is a methodological rollout; this is our initial stage. A phone app specific for folks that are unbanked will be rolling out very soon, considering the fast follow-up from us.
“So that is how we see the financial inclusion question coming through. As far as interest goes, it is hard to say this early what the interest is. I imagine that the concept has a newness to it; people want to understand the inner workings of it and what to use it for.”
According to the CEO, launching the eNaira app was challenging, but the company relied on its past digital currency experience in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.
Popelka added, “It is a sort of methodological rollout. We like the idea that there are stages. Nigeria has a very foursome rollout for all of the users for which we hope to get to over the course of many years, which means that they and we, of course, are in it for the long haul.
“Post-launch though, as you can imagine, as the initial rollouts, it is really just sign-ups. Well, the central bank has minted and disbursed digital currencies to several key financial institutions. And therefore, there are merchants and consumers that are really just getting into the app store, downloading the app, and moving their traditional currencies into digital format at this stage.”
Popelka said the government would not be able to access the individual purchase histories of individuals using the eNaira app but would able to access bulk transaction histories.
He added that banks would have access to individual transactions in order to track fraud.
The CEO further said that financial institutions have a role to play in ensuring more people trust and use the digital currency.
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