Flutterwave, Africa’s leading payments technology company, has added Nigeria’s eNaira as a payment option for merchants, a move that could help boost adoption of the digital currency.
Nigeria, the first African nation to launch a digital currency, is targeting eight million users for the app launched in October. But adoption has been slow as lenders worry the app would compete with their online platforms and reduce fee revenue.
Flutterwave said yesterday that over one million merchants now accept eNaira payments from their customers.
“We… are confident that this number will grow further as we continue to innovate and expand,” Flutterwave said in a statement.
Nigeria aims to expand usage of its eNaira digital currency by attracting users without bank accounts after a first phase adoption saw 850,000 downloads by bank customers.
Recall that the Flutterwave was granted a Switching and Processing License by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which is widely regarded as the apex bank’s most valuable payments processing licence.
This allows the company to offer transaction switching and card processing services to customers. Others include non-bank acquiring, agency banking and payment gateway services.
The Switching and Processing licence allows Flutterwave to enable transactions between banks, fintechs and other financial institutions. The company is also able to process card transactions, participate in agency banking and offer various payment services without any intermediary. Prior to this license, Flutterwave operated with its Payment Solution Service Provider (PSSP) and International Money Transfer Operator (IMTO) licences.
