Regulatory Guidelines on the eNaira

The Regulatory Guidelines on the eNaira, issued by the CBN with effect from 25 October 2021, govern Nigeria's central bank digital currency (CBDC), the eNaira, making Nigeria one of the first countries in the world, and the first in Africa, to launch a retail CBDC. The eNaira is the digital form of the Naira, issued by the CBN under Section 19 of the CBN Act; it is a direct liability of the central bank, legal tender, part of the currency in circulation, and exchangeable one-for-one with physical Naira. The guidelines establish the operating model, participant roles and rules for issuing, distributing, holding and transacting in the eNaira. They identify key participants, the CBN, financial institutions, merchants, ministries/departments/agencies and consumers, and assign roles: the CBN mints, issues and distributes the eNaira and sets and monitors standards; financial institutions intermediate between the CBN and end-users, onboarding customers, integrating the eNaira wallet into their channels and ensuring KYC/AML/CFT compliance; merchants accept eNaira for goods and services; and consumers hold and use eNaira through a wallet. Access requires an eNaira wallet, with wallet tiers and corresponding transaction and balance limits aligned to KYC levels to manage risk and support inclusion. The guidelines address transaction charges (waived for an initial period), settlement, dispute resolution, consumer protection, data privacy and the security and operational standards of the platform, and provide for interoperability with other CBDCs. Participants must comply with the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) framework, the Terrorism (Prevention) framework and other AML/CFT laws. The CBN administers and supervises the scheme and enforces compliance through standards-setting and sanctions. As the rulebook for Africa's pioneering CBDC, the instrument sits squarely within the central bank's digital-finance perimeter.

1. 1Establishes the eNaira as a CBDC: digital legal tender, a direct CBN liability, at par 1:1 with physical Naira
2. 2CBN mints, issues, distributes and sets standards; financial institutions intermediate and onboard customers
3. 3Tiered eNaira wallets with KYC-linked transaction and balance limits
4. 4Rules on charges (initial waiver), settlement, consumer protection, data privacy and platform security
5. 5AML/CFT compliance required; provision for interoperability with other CBDCs
6. 6CBN administration, supervision and enforcement of the scheme