FG Plans Major Shift as eNaira May Replace Traditional Salary Payments

The Federal Government may soon start paying workers’ salaries, pensions, and social welfare benefits through the eNaira platform as part of a new initiative by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to expand the use of the country’s digital currency.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

According to Punch, the proposal is contained in the Nigeria Payments System Vision 2028, a newly released roadmap aimed at strengthening digital payment systems and increasing the role of the eNaira in everyday financial transactions.

Launched in October 2021, the eNaira is Africa’s first central bank digital currency. It was introduced to enhance financial inclusion, reduce transaction costs, support cashless payments, and simplify money transfers.

However, despite these objectives, the platform has struggled to achieve widespread adoption among Nigerians since its launch.

Under the new roadmap, the CBN plans to move the eNaira beyond its pilot phase and position it as a key payment channel for both government and private-sector transactions.

The apex bank also indicated plans to review the current regulatory framework governing the digital currency to ensure it aligns with present market realities and operational needs.

The proposal identifies several key areas where the eNaira could be deployed, including government salary payments, pension disbursements, conditional cash transfers, offline transactions, and support for small and medium-scale enterprises.

If implemented, this would mean that salaries of public sector workers, pensions, and other government welfare payments could eventually be processed through the digital currency platform.

The CBN further noted that the eNaira has programmable features that allow funds to be tailored for specific uses.

These features could enable restrictions on how money is spent, set usage deadlines, automate payment splits, and allow users to maintain multiple digital wallets for different financial purposes.