The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has unveiled *997# as the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) code for its eNaira.
CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, represented by Deputy Governor of CBN (Operations), Folashadun Adebisi Shonubi, introduced the USSD transaction code on Thursday at a five-day Northern eNaira fair 2022, in Kano.
According to him, the apex bank decided to introduce the initiative to increase financial inclusion in the country.
“It captured the slogan ‘same naira, more possibilities’, and designed to positively impact lives of Nigerians, and transform the economy,” he said.
“The eNaira is expected to enhance inclusion, support poverty reduction, enable direct welfare disbursement to citizens, support a resilient payments ecosystem, improve availability and usability of central bank money.”
He said it would also facilitate diaspora remittances, reduce the cost of processing cash, and improve efficiency of cross-border payments, among others.
According to him, approximately 45 per cent of Nigerians do not have bank accounts, while 35.9 per cent are excluded from formal financial services.
