The Director-Information Technology Department, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mrs Rakiyat Mohammed, has said the banking regulator is making arrangement to launch a digital currency before the end of 2021.
Muhammed announced this during a press briefing on the Bankers’ Committee meeting on Thursday.
“As I said before the end of the year, the Central Bank will be making special announcement and possibly launching a pilot scheme in order to be able to be able to provide this kind of currency to its populace,” she said.
She said about 80 per cent of central banks in the world were exploring the possibility of issuing central bank digital currency and Nigeria could not be left behind.
Explaining what the Central Bank digital currency would be, she said there were currently two forms of money in the country.
She added, “We have in two forms in Nigeria as of now, there are the notes and there are the coins.
“So the Central Bank currency is to be the third form of money which means just as we have electronic money, digital money is not new in Nigeria.
