In an effort to further its “cash-less Nigeria” policy and promote the usage of the eNaira, Nigeria’s Central Bank’s digital currency, the country has dramatically curtailed the amount of cash that people and businesses can withdraw (CBDC).
According to a Dec. 6 circular from the Central Bank of Nigeria, people and businesses are now only permitted to withdraw $45 (about 20,000 Naira) each day and $225 (almost 100,000 Naira) every week from ATMs.
A 5% fee will be charged to individuals who withdraw more than $225 ($100,000) and a 10% fee will be charged to businesses that withdraw more than $1,125 ($500,000) every week from banks.
The daily cap on cash withdrawals through point-of-sale terminals is set at $45 (about $20,000.) The Director of Banking announced.
Since its introduction, eNaira has not seen high adoption rates. Less than 0.5% of Nigeria’s population reported using the eNaira as of October 25—a year after its launch—indicating that the Central Bank of Nigeria has had difficulty persuading its people to adopt the CBDC.
Governments all over the world are converting to digital currency to increase advantages to the population and eliminate fraud in the future. Instead, of pressuring people by restricting their access to their hard-earned currency, they could offer incentives to encourage the use of digital currency. This might be a slow process, but it has long-term benefits. This will just reinforce slavery in people’s minds and drive them to seek out new alternatives or increase the usage of bitcoin. I would say that while these actions are beneficial to the digital industry, they are disastrous to the people.
