THE IMF EXPRESSES ALARM AS ENAIRA TRANSACTIONS TOP 1.4 MILLION

The International Monetary Fund's Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, has warned about the risk of retail Central Bank Digital currencies amid a boom in eNaira transactions in Nigeria.

Georgieva recommended countries to adhere to less hazardous Central Bank Digital Currencies, CBDC, choices in an interview at the Milken Argentina Institute's 2023 Global Conference less than a week ago.

Because of the potential for errors, the IMF chief stated that wholesale CBDCs are a better solution than retail CBDCs.

"We think wholesale CBDCs can be put in place with fairly little space for undesirable surprises, whereas retail CBDCs completely transform the financial system in a way that we don't quite know what consequences it could bring," he said.

On October 25, 2021, Nigeria's eNaira, one of the world's first digital currencies, was launched.

Since its inception, the Central Bank of Nigeria has worked to promote its benefits, such as expanding remittance and payment options.

Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, recently stated at the 34th conference for Correspondents and Business Editors in Calabar that over 1.4 million transactions have occurred via the eNaira platform, demonstrating progress in the country's payment system.