US Firm Gives Verdict On Digital Money Status In Nigeria

A United States-based firm has given an interesting status report on digital money activities in Nigeria, This it did in a report published today.

.The report singled out Nigeria as one of the top 3 countries in the world where Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) has gained momentum.

44 other countries globally are in the pilot phase of implementing the programme.

It said as at September 2024, only the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Nigeria have fully launched a CBDC adding: “In Nigeria and the Bahamas, CBDC issuance has increased substantially,” the report noted.

With that, Nigeria, which is the first African country to launch a CBDC and second in the world after the Bahamas which launched “Sand Dollar”, in October 2020, is thus faring impressively in the digital money sector..

Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa  are also implementing the scheme.

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“In May 2020 that number was only 35. Currently, 66 countries are in the advanced phase of exploration—development, pilot, or launch,” the report stated.

“There is a new high of 44 ongoing CBDC pilots, including the digital euro. European countries, both in the euro area and beyond, are increasingly testing wholesale CBDCs, both domestically and across borders,” it added.

The report added that, China, a steadily advancing economy accounts for the the world’s largest pilot scheme, and that its prototype e-CNY nearly quadruple to 7 trillion yuan ($987 billion) of transactions.

Digital Currency Explained

Digital currency is a major fallout of the increasing need to settle bills without the use of physical or traditional cash as we know it

It is variously defined or explained as digital money, electronic money or electronic currency, and transacted on electronic platforms like computers or internet.

It could be used like other currencies only that it does not have a physical form like does our traditional currencies,