BREAKING: CBN in massive e-Naira drive among Okada, Keke NAPEP operators

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has commenced a massive e-Naira drive among motorcycle and tricycle operators, across the country, in a push to expand the subscription base of the apex bank’s digital currency.

The Director, Information Technology of the bank, Hajiya Rakiya Mohammed, who took the e-Naira enrollment campaign to the tricycle riders at the Galadimawa Roundabout in Abuja, this afternoon, said that the e-Naira was the way to go for both high and low income earners.

The director, who was represented by Dr. Khalipha Nuhu, an Information Technology Officer in the department, told journalists in an interview at the event, “We are here today for the e-Naira adoption drive. E-Naira is the CBN digital currency- the digital equivalent of the Naira we spend on the day-to-day basis. We are here today to promote awareness; to intimate people with this new form of money; get people to know what it means and to onboard people to use it in a simplified way.

“We are here to register people to the platform and we are here today to engage the wider community of Keke-NAPEP riders. Our adoption drive covers all sectors and all segments. That is from government institutions, big businesses, MSMEs and day-to-day traders.

“In partnership with one of our adoption partners, Bizi Mobile Nigeria, we are engaging the Keke NAPEP Community so that we can educate them on what e-Naira is and how they can be registered unto the platform which we call onboarding and how they can use the platform for exchange and how they also help us to be ambassadors for this products which is a national asset for everyone in the country.

“It is the same as what you use on a day-to-day basis, the Naira. We hope that this engagement today will improve everybody’s understanding of e-Naira, know its benefits and also the people we engage to help us drive its use and educate people on what it is and at the end of the day, our target is to get people to get to use it.

“The beauty of e-Naira is that it doesn’t need too much technical knowledge. We have a simplified application, where you can go on and download the mobile app, if you are using Android, Apple or any such phone. If you are familiar with this type of technology, it will give you a step-by-step process of onboarding.

If you don’t have that type of phone, you can use the USSD channel which is *997#just as you use USSD for a transfer. It will give you a prompt and within that prompt, it will guide you on the information you need to enter to register on the e-Naira platform.”

In his remarks, Dr. Aminu Bizi, e-Naira Consultant to the CBN, said that as part of CBN’s efforts at driving the adoption of the digital currency for low-income earning Nigerians, it has introduced a 5 percent subsidy for Keke riders and their customers.

He said, “As you can see today, we have flagged –off the Keke-NAPEP initiative. The CBN has decided to have a subsidy for Keke-NAPEP riders and even the customers. For example, a customer has a 5 percent subsidy. If you are to pay N100 transport for Keke-NAPEP, the CBN will give you a subsidy of 5 percent.

“At the same time, electronically, the Keke-NAPEP rider will also have an instant 5 percent discount on the N100. At the end the Keke-NAPEP operator will have N100 and the 5 percent on the favoured payment. We have launched it here. In the coming week we will move to Lagos and then to other states.

“Our target is to reach the grassroots. Once the people selling shai (tea), the akara women, the food vendor, the shoe-shiner can transact business using the e-Naira, then we have achieved our goal.”