The Central Bank of Nigeria in a presentation made few hours ago on a virtual platform has revealed that its proposed digital currency will lower the cost of doing business in the country.
The presentation which was made by the Director of Information Technology Rakiya Mohammed revealed several benefits the CBDC will have on the Nigerian Economy.
She said the digital currency will lead to diversification and synergy where there will be innovation opportunities, opportunities for Fintechs to build products and services to contribute to economic growth in the areas of financial inclusion etc.
Read also: Nigeria’s CBDC to Run on Hyperlegder Fabric
She also noted that the new financial arrangement will result in New Service provider and non-bank players as well as new possibilities for payments, integration with new systems and a new range of banking services amongst others.
Compatibility with the country’s existing financial arrangement
The Central Banks has noted that the new system will complement the existing payment system and this is expected to result in potential increase in demand for financial products and services due to improved financial inclusion.
The Central Bank also revealed the CBDC will launch its pilot on the 1st of October, 2021.
NITDA’s & CBN to Spur Growth in the Digital Currency Space
In May, the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Mallam Kashifu Inuwa in three day visit to Lagos charged stakeholders in the IT ecosystem to disrupt the status quo.
H called on IT stakeholders to come up with new business models and ways to change things, new organizational structure and disrupt the status quo which would accelerate digitalization.
He said that the agency is looking at digital transformation in two ways which are using digital technology to enhance existing services and delivering rapid business innovation; and to achieve this, “we need you, the startups. Innovation starts from startups, we look at innovations as a process, which is taking ideas from inception to impact which can be difficult.”
Last year, the NITDA revealed the Nigerian government aim to generate between $6 to $10 billion from Blockchain technology by 2030.
And these aligns with the CBN’s CBDC plan which will usher in a new financial arrangement that will spur innovative financial products and services and increase financial inclusion in the country.
