The Central Bank of Nigeria believes that the introduction of the USSD code for the state cryptocurrency will enable almost 30% of the country’s population to access the financial services market.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Deputy Governor Kingsley Obiora said at a meeting of the IMF’s Africa Department this Friday that the central bank intends to introduce a special USSD code to improve people’s access to digital naira.
The regulatory framework for access to the country’s financial services market through USSD codes was developed by the bank back in 2018. Obiora said that the introduction of the USSD code for the state cryptocurrency (CBDC) will help increase the level of financial inclusion in the country:
“Many people may not have smartphones, but the introduction of a special USSD code will allow those who do not have them to transact on eNaira.”
Justifying the future innovation, Obiora noted that CBN deliberately did not raise the barrier to entry on the state cryptocurrency platform. This allows anyone with a bank verification number (BVN) to connect to the eNaira platform in a matter of minutes.
He also noted that the turnover of digital payments in the country has grown from $324 billion in 2008 to about $2.4 trillion by 2022. Nigerians are actively making digital payments, but about 30% of the country’s population still remains outside the financial system. The central bank believes that the introduction of a USSD code to access CBDCs could help reduce this number.
In June, the Blockchain Association of Nigeria (SiBAN), by order of the President’s Office, formulated a code of conduct for virtual asset service providers (VASPs), which will apply to all participants in the Nigerian cryptocurrency market.
