The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has hired UK-based digital finance firm Bitt Inc as a technical partner for its e-Naira project, which is due to be presented by the end of the year.
Bitt Awarded CBDC Contract for Central Bank of #Nigeria (@cenbank)
Global fintech company, Bitt, is partnering with the Central Bank of Nigeria (#CBN) to roll out their digital currency (#CBDC) to the largest economy on the continent of Africa. pic.twitter.com/mibi0bDrv3
— Bitt (@BittGlobal) August 30, 2021
Bitt uses blockchain and distributed ledger technology to facilitate peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions through Bitt’s suite of software’s and mobile applications.
Director, Corporate Communications of Nigeria Central Bank, Osita Nwanisobi, said that CBDC known as the “Project Giant,” has been a long and thorough process of CBN, and the Bank first made the decision to digitize Naira in 2017 after extensive research and development.
On choosing Bitt, he said:
“In choosing Bitt Inc, the CBN relied on the company’s tested and proven digital currency experience, which is already in circulation in several Eastern Caribbean Countries. Bitt Inc. was key to the development and successful launch of the central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) in April 2021.”
CBN Draft Guidelines On E-Naira CBDC
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sent out a presentation on the e-Naira project to all Nigerian banks, issuing preliminary recommendations on the proposed digital currency.
The CBDC, also called Project Giant, will peg its value to Naira, ensuring that e-Naira offers the same value as Naira without being an interest rate currency.
E-Naira will operate using a multi-level anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) structure, with each level having different transaction limits.
The basic level will serve primarily non-bank citizens. Non-bank citizens will be required to provide their phone numbers, which have been tied to their national identity. Upon confirmation, citizens will have a daily transaction limit of ₦50,000.
Citizens with bank accounts will be accommodated at the second and third levels. What level they get will depend on the KYC and AML steps they have completed.
The daily transaction limit for the second level will be ₦200,000 and ₦1 Million, respectively.
Banks based in Nigeria can invite their clients to register with CBDC e-Naira. Nigeria’s central bank hopes to release its CBDC by the end of the year.