The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the formal engagement of the global Fintech company, Bitt Inc., as the Technical Partner for its eNaira digital currency, due to be unveiled later in the year.
The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, was quoted as listing the benefits of the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to include increased cross-border trade, accelerated financial inclusion, cheaper and faster remittance inflows, easier targeted social interventions, as well as improvements in monetary policy effectiveness, payment systems efficiency, and tax collection.
Project Giant, as the Nigerian CBDC pilot is known, has been a long and thorough process for the CBN, with the Bank’s decision to digitize the Naira in 2017, following extensive research and explorations.
Given the significant explosion in the use of digital payments and the rise in the digital economy, the CBN’s decision follows an unmistakable global trend in which over 85 percent of Central Banks are now considering adopting digital currencies in their countries.
Explaining the CBN’s selection of Bitt Inc. from among other highly competitive bidders, according to a statement on Monday by the Director, Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi, was hinged on the company’s technological competence, efficiency, platform security, interoperability, and implementation experience.
Given the significant explosion in the use of digital payments and the rise in the digital economy, the CBN’s decision follows an unmistakable global trend in which over 85 per cent of Central Banks are now considering adopting digital currencies in their countries.
The statement added that in choosing Bitt Inc., the CBN will rely on the company’s tested and proven digital currency experience, which is already in circulation in several Eastern Caribbean Countries. Also, Bitt Inc. was key to the development and successful launch of the central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) in April 2021.
Earlier last month, the CBN had hinted at Project GIANT, which will use the Hyperledger Fabric Blockchain during a virtual meeting of stakeholders.
The digital currency project became imperative in view of the rising demand for digital currency globally, amid attempts by central banks to check the use of the currency for financial transactions.