The Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN), on Tuesday ordered traders and other businesses to accept the country’s digital currency, e-Naira, as a legal tender after its launch next month.
The apex bank will launch the e-Naira on October 1.
The CBN’s Director of Payment System, Musa Jimoh, gave the directive during a programme during a television programme yesterday.
He stressed that just like the paper note, CBN bears all liabilities for the e-Naira.
The CBN also advised Nigerians to open e-Naira wallets which could be downloaded on mobile phones from October 1.
He noted that one of the benefits of the e-Naira was its cost-saving nature.
“Remember there was a time in this country when you had to practically beg business outlets, merchants, and others to accept Point of Sale (POS) transactions. But we have come to a point where traders now beg for POS terminals.
“Today the cost of producing the Naira and coins is very high. It costs money to print Naira in this country. Now, the minting of e-Naira is electronic, so it reduces cost”, he stated.
