• The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is reportedly seeking a new technology partner to help it implement a system which gives it greater control of the digital currency.
• R3 is one of the prospective partners that has discussed deploying a different tech for the e-naira.
• Lucky Uwakwe Arisukwu argued that the CBN’s desire to control digital currency could be the primary motivating factor.
CBN Seeks New Technology Partner
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is reportedly seeking a new technology partner in order to help them implement a system which will give them greater control over their central bank digital currency (CBDC). This move comes more than a year after they launched their CBDC with Bitt Inc. as their initial technology partner.
R3 Discussed Deploying Different Tech
R3, an enterprise technology and services provider, is one of the prospective partners that have discussed deploying a different tech for the e-naira. However, this does not mean that Bitt Inc., their initial partner, will be ousted immediately; instead, CBN hopes that this new partnership will help them achieve their goal of controlling the underlying technology for their CBDC.
Control Over Digital Currency Could Be Primary Motivating Factor
Lucky Uwakwe Arisukwu, CEO of Sabi Group and 4th industrial revolution technology hub, argued that the main motivation behind this change could be CBN’s desire to have more control over digital currency. He cited Afrigo scheme – recently launched domestic card scheme – as an example where despite some assertions claiming it would push out international service providers; CBN still went ahead with launching it due to having greater control over its usage and circulation.
E-Naira User Experience Should Be Improved
Uwakwe further suggested that if CBN wants more Nigerians to adopt e-naira, they should focus on improving user experience by providing better features and enhancements through Bitt Inc.’s platform.
No Official Comment Given On Plans
So far no official comment concerning these plans has been given but Bitt Inc., acknowledged working closely with CBN in developing additional features and enhancements on their platform for better user experience when using e-naira.