IMF stated that countries operating digitally of which Nigeria is one may experience cash shortage, difficulty in making payments and multiple hurdles in transactions.
Investors King recalls that the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN launched Nigeria’s Digital currency called e-naira in October, 2021.
The e-Naira was introduced to promote cross-border trade, accelerate financial inclusion, and lead to cheaper and faster remittance inflow.
According to CBN, the e-naira will enhance macro management and growth, cross-border trade facilitation, financial inclusion, monetary policy effectiveness, improved payment efficiency, revenue tax collection, remittance improvement, and targeted social intervention.
Investors King gathered that some other countries with digital currency include: Ghana (e-cedi), South Africa (digital Rand), Tunisia (eDinar), China (digital yuan), Bahamas (sand dollar), Eastern Caribbean (DCash).
Sweden, Japan, South Korea, Bahamas, Russia amongst others have also launched their digital currencies.
In December 2021 and January 2022, Nigerian banks faced cash crunch at some of their branches in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt whereby customers were denied access to cash leading to long queues.
The IMF, in its report titled, ‘Behind the Scenes of Central Bank Digital Currency-Emerging Trends, Insights, and Policy Lessons’ averred that there may be difficulty in making payments if cash flow drops.
