FG May Pay Salaries Through eNaira as CBN Unveils New Policies
The Federal Government may soon begin paying salaries, pensions, and social welfare benefits directly through the eNaira as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) moves to transform the country’s digital currency into a mainstream payment system. This plan is contained in the newly released Nigeria Payments System Vision 2028 (PSV2028), a strategic roadmap designed to modernise Nigeria’s financial ecosystem and accelerate the adoption of digital payments nationwide.
CBN strengthens eNaira in a new policy document to boost adoption
The eNaira, launched in October 2021 as Africa’s first Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), was initially introduced to improve financial inclusion, reduce transaction costs, and support Nigeria’s transition to a cashless economy. However, despite years of promotion and regulatory backing, adoption has remained relatively low among Nigerians and businesses.
Under the new roadmap, the CBN says it intends to move the eNaira beyond its experimental phase and position it as a “core payment rail” for both government and private-sector transactions. According to the apex bank, key areas targeted for deployment include government-to-person payments, payroll systems, offline payments, and support for small businesses and micro-enterprises. This means future payments such as civil service salaries, pensions, conditional cash transfers, and other government disbursements could be processed through the eNaira platform.
The CBN stated in the document: “Transition CBDC from pilot to core payment rail through defined use cases.”
How the eNaira could change payments
One of the major features highlighted in the document is the eNaira's programmability, according to a report by Punch. The CBN explained that the digital currency could support advanced controls and flexible payment options, including spending deadlines, purpose-specific payments, payment splitting, and the creation of sub-wallets. According to the bank, these features could improve transparency and efficiency in public spending while also making digital transactions faster and cheaper.
“The programmable money feature of digital currency could have additional features such as time-limits, purpose-specific usage, splitting payments, sub-wallets, etc.,” the document stated. The apex bank also noted that the eNaira could strengthen Nigeria’s broader financial infrastructure by supporting settlement systems, tokenised assets, bonds, and securities.
Cardoso speaks on Nigeria’s digital future
CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso described PSV2028 as a major step toward consolidating Nigeria’s position as one of Africa’s leading digital payment markets. In the foreword to the document, Cardoso said the initiative would focus on modernising payment infrastructure, strengthening regulation, improving resilience, and expanding financial inclusion.
“PSV2028 sets clear strategic priorities: modernising payments infrastructure, strengthening regulatory and supervisory frameworks, accelerating the adoption of digital financial services, and fostering deeper collaboration across stakeholders,” he said. The Deputy Governor for Economic Policy, Dr Muhammad Abdullahi, also said the roadmap would deepen the use of emerging payment technologies, including digital currencies, within a secure and regulated environment.
Why the eNaira has struggled
Despite recording millions of wallet registrations and transactions estimated at N22 billion, the CBN admitted that the eNaira still faces major adoption challenges. The document identified weak merchant acceptance, poor integration with banking and fintech apps, and limited real-world use cases as key obstacles to adoption.
To address these concerns, the CBN plans to open its APIs for fintech integration and reposition the eNaira for remittances, trade settlements, and government payments. The bank also revealed plans to launch bilateral CBDC corridor pilots with major trade and remittance partners to support faster cross-border transactions.
CBN relaxes PTA, BTA rules for travellers
Legit.ng earlier reported that CBN has introduced a major adjustment to its foreign exchange policy by partially relaxing its 2024 cashless rule on Personal Travel Allowance (PTA) and Business Travel Allowance (BTA), giving travellers renewed access to cash dollars. Under the revised Foreign Exchange (FX) Manual, which takes effect on June 1, 2026, travellers will now be allowed to receive 25% of their PTA and BTA in cash dollars, while the remaining 75% will continue to be processed electronically through debit and credit cards. The move signals a notable shift from the apex bank’s earlier strict cashless directive and is expected to bring relief to many Nigerians travelling abroad for personal and business purposes.
