CBN insists on launching digital currency by October

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Thursday, July 22, insisted on launching its digital currency latest by October.

The CBN and its stakeholders outlined its digital currency initiative via a private webinar.

The Director IT department, Rakiya Mohammed, at the end of the meeting explained that the bank had been conducting research in regards to the apex bank’s digital currencies since 2017 and may conduct a proof of concept before the end of the year.

The CBN Director-Information Technology Department, Rakiyat Mohammed, disclosed this during a press briefing on the Bankers’ Committee meeting on Thursday, June 10.

Mohammed said: “As I said before the end of the year, the Central Bank will be making special announcement and possibly launching a pilot scheme in order to be able to be able to provide this kind of currency to its populace.”

She explained that about 80 per cent of central banks in the world were exploring the possibility of issuing central bank digital currency and Nigeria could not be left behind.

According to her, the CBN had been been exploring technology and had made tremendous progress for over two years now.

She said: “We have in two forms in Nigeria as of now, there are the notes and there are the coins. So the Central Bank currency is to be the third form of money which means just as we have electronic money, digital money is not new in Nigeria.

“Just as we are about the third or fifth in the whole world as far as advancement in the use of digital money is concerned.”