The unbanked in Nigeria are being courted by the eNaira digital currency.
So said Nigerian Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele.
After the app attracted some 850,000 people who have a bank account, it’s now the turn of the unbanked.
The original target for the app was eight million users, but it has fell short as third parties worry that the app will eat into their margins on lending and other financial products. Potential users are also concerned that rules over digital currencies could change quickly.
Nigeria is the first African nation to launch a digital currency and two million of its population remain unbanked.
Emefiele told the media: “The second phase of the project has begun and is intended to drive financial inclusion by onboarding unbanked and underserved users leveraging offline channels.
“Hence, greater success is envisioned for the project with phase two expected to deliver more gains with a target of about 8,000,000 active users based on estimations.”