FG considers paying salaries, pensions through eNaira

The Federal Government may soon begin paying salaries, pensions and social welfare benefits through the eNaira as part of a new roadmap by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to transform the digital currency into a major payment channel.

The proposal is contained in the Nigeria Payments System Vision 2028 (PSV2028), which seeks to move the eNaira from a pilot project to a core payment platform for government and private-sector transactions.

Launched in October 2021 as Africa’s first central bank digital currency (CBDC), the eNaira was introduced to promote financial inclusion, lower transaction costs and support Nigeria’s cashless economy. However, adoption has remained relatively low.

According to the CBN, the digital currency will be repositioned to support government-to-person payments, payroll processing, offline transactions and micro-enterprise activities.

Under the proposal, salaries of public workers, pensions, conditional cash transfers and other government disbursements could eventually be paid through the eNaira platform to improve efficiency and boost adoption.

The apex bank also highlighted the eNaira’s programmable features, which could enable functions such as time-limited spending, purpose-specific payments, payment splitting and the creation of sub-wallets.

The CBN said the digital currency could strengthen Nigeria’s financial market infrastructure by supporting settlement systems, banks and tokenised financial assets, including bonds and securities, while making transactions faster and cheaper.

CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, said PSV2028 is designed to modernise Nigeria’s payment infrastructure, strengthen regulatory frameworks and accelerate the adoption of digital financial services.

Similarly, the CBN’s Deputy Governor for Economic Policy, Muhammad Abdullahi, said the vision would support the broader use of digital currencies and other innovative payment technologies within a robust regulatory framework.

The CBN acknowledged that although millions of eNaira wallets have been created and transactions worth about ₦22 billion recorded, usage remains low due to limited merchant adoption, weak integration with banking and fintech applications and the absence of cross-border CBDC payment corridors.

To address these challenges, the apex bank plans to reposition the eNaira for government payments, remittances and trade settlements, while opening its application programming interfaces (APIs) for fintech integration and pursuing bilateral CBDC pilots with key trade and remittance partners.

The initiative forms part of a broader effort to modernise Nigeria’s payment ecosystem through digital financial services, stronger infrastructure and emerging technologies. According to industry estimates cited by the CBN, more than 130 countries are currently researching, piloting or developing central bank digital currencies.