By Ado Oyeyemi
The Federal Government may soon begin paying workers’ salaries, pensions and social welfare benefits through the eNaira platform as part of a broader plan to boost the adoption of Nigeria’s digital currency.
The proposal is contained in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Nigeria Payments System Vision 2028, a strategic roadmap designed to transform the eNaira from an experimental initiative into a mainstream payment channel for both public and private sector transactions.
Launched in October 2021 as Africa’s first Central Bank Digital Currency, the eNaira was introduced to promote financial inclusion, lower transaction costs and support Nigeria’s transition to a cashless economy.
However, its adoption has remained below expectations despite regulatory backing.
In the new framework, the CBN disclosed plans to review the existing CBDC structure and align it more closely with market realities and emerging operational demands.
The apex bank stated that the eNaira would be repositioned as a core payment infrastructure, with government-to-person payments, salary disbursements, offline transactions and support for small businesses identified as priority use cases.
Under the proposal, public sector payments such as salaries, pensions, conditional cash transfers and other welfare programmes could be processed through the digital currency platform to enhance efficiency and drive wider acceptance.
The document also highlighted the advanced capabilities of the eNaira, noting that its programmable features could enable spending limits, purpose-specific transactions, payment splitting and the creation of sub-wallets.
According to the CBN, these functionalities could improve transparency and accountability in financial transactions while expanding the usefulness of the digital currency across different sectors of the economy.
The bank further stated that the eNaira could strengthen Nigeria’s financial market infrastructure by supporting settlement systems, tokenised assets, bonds and securities, while making transactions faster and more cost-effective.
CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso, in the foreword to the document, said the Payments System Vision 2028 was designed to reinforce Nigeria’s position as a leading digital payments market through improved efficiency, resilience and financial inclusion.
He noted that the strategy would focus on modernising payment infrastructure, strengthening regulatory oversight, accelerating digital financial services and deepening collaboration among stakeholders in the financial ecosystem.
Also commenting on the initiative, the CBN Deputy Governor for Economic Policy, Dr Muhammad Abdullahi, said the vision seeks to expand the application of digital currencies and other innovative payment technologies within a robust regulatory environment.
Despite recording millions of wallet registrations and transactions valued at about N22bn since its launch, the CBN acknowledged that the eNaira has yet to gain widespread acceptance in everyday commercial activities.
The bank attributed the challenge to limited merchant adoption, weak integration with banking and fintech platforms, and the absence of operational cross-border CBDC payment corridors.
To address these concerns, the apex bank plans to deepen the use of the eNaira for government payments, remittances and trade settlements, while opening its application programming interfaces to fintech firms for improved integration.
The document also revealed plans to launch bilateral CBDC pilot projects with key trade and remittance partners to facilitate seamless cross-border transactions.
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The latest proposal comes amid growing global interest in central bank digital currencies, with more than 130 countries reportedly exploring, testing or developing digital versions of their national currencies.
