2023-05-29-IMF-尼日利亚的eNaira_一年后（英）_46页_1mb

Summary of Nigeria's eNaira, One Year After

Core Content

This IMF Working Paper evaluates the first year of Nigeria's eNaira, the first Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in Africa. The paper explores the technical and strategic aspects of the eNaira's implementation, its role in financial inclusion and remittances, and the challenges it faces in achieving broader adoption.

Main Points

Overview of eNaira

• Launch: The eNaira was officially launched by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on October 25, 2021.
• Technology: It is built on Hyperledger Fabric, a blockchain platform, and operates through a Digital Currency Management System (DCMS).
• Design: The eNaira is a liability of the CBN and is accessible via digital wallets. It supports both wholesale and retail transactions, with the latter being handled by financial institutions, mainly banks.
• Wallet System: A tiered wallet system is in place, with different levels of access and transaction limits based on user categories and KYC requirements (see Table 1).

Year One Experience and Achievement

• Adoption: Despite initial technical challenges, the eNaira has operated without major disruptions for the full year.
• Wallet Downloads: As of end-November 2021, there were approximately 860,000 retail wallets, representing 0.8% of Nigeria's active bank accounts.
• Transactions: The average number of transactions per week is about 14,000, with an average value of 923 million naira per week. This equates to 1.5% of the total wallet count, indicating low usage.
• User Behavior: Most wallets remain inactive, suggesting limited public engagement and slow uptake.

Challenges in Adoption

• Network Effects: The eNaira is a network externality product, where its value depends on the size of the network. The initial low adoption could lock the system into a low equilibrium unless a coordinated policy drive is implemented.
• Competition with Mobile Money: The eNaira faces stiff competition from mobile money services, which are more established and widely used in Nigeria.
• Trust and Convenience: Public trust in the monetary system and convenience of mobile money services (e.g., payment tracking, ease of use) are major barriers to adoption.
• Interoperability: Nigeria's fragmented mobile money landscape and limited interoperability contribute to the difficulty in scaling eNaira usage.

Key Roles and Potential

Financial Inclusion

• Goal: The eNaira aims to increase financial inclusion by providing access to unbanked populations using mobile phones.
• Strategy: The CBN has expanded eNaira access to non-bank account holders through KYC verification and USSD technology.
• Social Transfers: The eNaira can be used to facilitate social cash programs, offering a transparent and secure alternative to traditional methods.

Remittance Enabler

• Potential: The eNaira could reduce remittance costs and increase speed by acting as a frictionless digital medium.
• Current Remittance Process: Traditional remittances involve IMTOs like MoneyGram or Western Union, with transaction fees ranging from 7.8% to 8.7% (see Box 3).
• CBDC Integration: By integrating eNaira into the remittance process, the system could cut costs and enhance efficiency (see Box 4).

Policy Considerations

Strategic Integration

• Complementary Model: The CBN should consider a complementary relationship with mobile money, allowing integration through APIs and onboarding of users.
• Interoperability: Enhancing mobile money interoperability (see Figure 5) is essential to expand eNaira usage and support cross-border transactions.

Addressing Risks

• AML/CFT: The eNaira's KYC and AML/CFT framework is strong, but regulatory frameworks may need to be adjusted to handle new risks introduced by CBDC.
• Monetary Stability: The CBN must monitor the impact of eNaira on monetary and financial stability.
• Technological Reliability: Public trust in the technological reliability of the eNaira is crucial for its long-term success.

System Architecture

• Scalability: As Nigeria's population size and transaction volume grow, the system architecture may need to be optimized to handle increased demand.
• Latency: So far, the eNaira has not faced latency issues, but this may change as adoption increases.

Conclusion

The eNaira has technically succeeded in its first year, but adoption remains low. The key to success lies in strategic policy implementation, enhancing interoperability, and building public trust. The CBN must continue its efforts to expand access and promote usage, especially through collaboration with mobile money providers and improving the user experience.

Key Figures and Tables

• Figure 1: CBDC Taxonomy (based on BIS classification)
• Figure 2: eNaira, One Year After (wallet downloads and transactions)
• Figure 3: Tipping Point, High and Low Equilibria (network model)
• Figure 4: CBDC's Integration into an MPS
• Figure 5: Mobile Money Interoperability: Before and After CBDC
• Figure 6: Cost of Remittance by Source Countries (2020Q2)
• Figure 7: Graphic Illustration of the Current Remittance Process
• Figure 8: Graphic Illustration of a Possible Remittance Process using CBDC
• Figure 9: Sub-Saharan Africa: Financial Inclusion and Mobile Money Penetration
• Figure 10: Cost of Remittance by Destination Regions (2020Q2)
• Figure 11: Solving the CBDC Model
• Table 1: eNaira: Tiered Wallet System

References

• Jookyung Ree, 2023, "Nigeria's eNaira, One Year After", IMF Working Paper WP/23/104.
• World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide.
• MAS Managing Director Ravi Menon.
• BIS (Bank for International Settlements).