CBN Pegs Transfer Limits as e-Naira Takes off October 1

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has set an initial transaction limit of N50,000 for non-account preparatory to the take-off of its digital currency set for October 1.

In a guide released by the apex bank to Deposit money banks, the CBN stipulated a transaction limit for customers, non-interest-bearing Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) status, and an account value limit.

There are three levels to the CBN “Speed wallet” issued primarily to meet the October 1, 2021, deadline.

As a means to transact value, the wallet doesn’t compete with existing banks but is awaiting the creation of wallets by banks and other innovators.

Tier one

With the first tier, Speed Wallet can be used by anyone who does not have a bank account. However, users will have to submit a passport photo, a name, birth date and place, a phone number, and their address.

A N50,000 limit is in place for “Send & Receive”. The minimum requirement is the individual’s National Identity Number (NIN), which will be validated. A cumulative balance of N300,000 is fixed each day.

Tier Two

An account with an existing bank is required for users of Tier Two wallets.

The user is limited to sending and receiving N200,000 per day with a Cumulative Balance of N500,000 daily. A Bank Verification Number (BVN) is the minimum requirement for this level.

Tier Three

Tier three allows daily transactions of N1 million, with daily cumulative balances of N5 million. In order to qualify, you need to have at least a BVN.

Those who possess this merchant level can send or receive a million naira daily. A merchant can move as much money as they want into their bank accounts.

However, In context, the Central Bank further disclosed, neither merchants nor customers using the wallet will be charged a fee.

The report stated that the e-Naira is a legal tender for the entire country. It also mentioned that it will have non-interest-bearing CBDC status, a transaction limit for customers, and a value-based transaction limit.

The CBN also outlined that Nigerian banks will be allowed to invite all their customers to register for the e-Naira.

“Besides pre-generated codes, the banks can send invitation codes for onboarding to a specific list of selected customers. Onboarding will be done for customers who have a code assigned by their banks. The banks have already validated and verified these customers.”

It further disclosed that the wallet provided by its institution was merely a stop-gap measure for meeting the deadline, given that banks and other licensed operators may provide their own wallets since it didn’t intend to compete against the banks.

“As a National Critical Infrastructure, the e-naira system will be subject to comprehensive security checks, all data and personally identifiable information (PII) will be kept off the ledger and will not be stored on the ledger,” the Apex bank added.

In order to catalyse the adoption of e-Naira, banks will facilitate onboarding and provide world-class customer service.