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  • Business - Economy
  • Updated: August 31, 2021

e-Naira: CBN To Own Stake In Bitt

e-Naira: CBN To Own Stake In Bitt

The Central Bank of Nigeria plans to own a stake in Bitt Inc., the Barbados-based fintech which was selected as its technical partner in the creation of the e-Naira.

According to a report by Nairametrics, which cited "reliable sources within the Central Bank", one of the conditions the apex bank considered for accepting Bitt Inc is for the company to register in Nigeria as a Limited Liability company, and allowing the central bank to own shares in its Nigerian entity.

Nigeria's central bank announced that it selected Bitt Inc. "among highly competitive bidders” and will depend on the fintech to bring its naira digitization plans to fruition. There were over 100 bidders for the project, consisting of local and foreign potential partners, but the CBN went with a foreign company, Bitt Inc. on claims that the company has gained experience in implementing this in 5 countries including the Bahamas.

The apex bank has had a long-standing policy of being a shareholder in several financial payment services backbone such as NIBSS, NEFT etc. CBN believes its leadership role in enabling an electronic banking system has made the country’s financial system one of the most sophisticated in the world.

CBN's decision has also attracted criticism among economists and fintech operators in Nigeria who opined the contract should have been awarded to a local company. Since Nigeria is one of the 4 African countries that print their paper currency locally, many have attributed the CBN's decision to be erosive to the nation's fiscal strength. Most countries across the world rely on third parties to print their currency.

According to the report, Bitt’s role is to help mint the digital currency and distribute, while local FinTech companies are expected to assist with building other capabilities with it such as leveraging on e-Naira to help with remittances, a key objective of the project.

The CBN expects the e-Naira to be the backbone for several digitally-enabled financial transactions in Nigeria such as enabling payment by utility companies, helping the government collect taxes and facilitating e-commerce.

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