The retail eNaira speed wallet has been stepped down from the Google Play Store barely 48 hours after its launch for upgrade,
A check by our reporter shows that the eNaira merchant wallet, which is designed for corporates or businesses, is still running and has over 10,000 downloads on the Google Play Store made available to Android users.
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Checks on the Apple App Store showed that the eNaira speed wallet was still active but had been upgraded.
Our reporter who also downloaded the retail app around 3pm observed that the removal may have taken place around 4pm yesterday.
A senior management source at the CBN confirmed to Daily Trust that it is just an upgrade procedure ongoing.
He said: “the Apple version is up and running, even on the play store, the Merchant wallet is up. These are mere technical procedures and they will be sorted and restored in no time. The upgrade is for the individual or retail user of the Google play store app.”
The apex bank also dismissed reports that the eNaira platform crashed 48 hours after it was launched by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Daily Trust also reports that some subscribers are finding it difficult to complete their e-wallet activation process because the activation email never got to their emails 48 hours after completing their profile on the app.
But Mr. Osita Nwanisobi, CBN Director Corporate Affairs said: “There’s an upgrade going on at the moment by Google. Try in the next few hours. That’s the position and will be up shortly.”
In an earlier statement, Nwanisobi denied the claim that CBN is giving out free N50 billion as eNaira to Nigerians as the apex bank warned against fraudsters.
CBN said the messages in circulation about the minister of finance disbursing N50bn was meant to defraud innocent and unsuspecting members of the public through the links attached to the messages.
“In effect, the Bank is not disbursing eNaira currency to citizens. To this end, members of the public are hereby warned to be wary of fraudsters who Have resolved to take advantage of unsuspecting Nigerians.”
Meanwhile an economist and Chief Executive Officer of Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr. Muda Yusuf has said the value proposition of the newly launched eNaira is not clear, beyond the psychological satisfaction of joining the league of countries with digital currencies.
He expressed worry over the issue of security and its vulnerability to cybercrimes. He also expressed worry over the pace of adoption, considering the level of literacy and the huge informal economy.
“Transactions on these platforms are already in trillions of naira and still counting. It remains to be seen what additional value the e-naira will bring,”
He also said there is no connection between the e-naira and the exchange rate at the moment.
By Sunday Michael Ogwu, Chris Agabi, Faruk Shuaib (Abuja) & Christiana T. Alabi (Lagos)
