Recent Bank of Canada findings that showed Canadians have misgivings about a central bank digital currency should serve as a wake-up call that policymakers must do more to bridge the trust deficit.
To encourage the widespread use of eNaira, Nigeria will have to fix its infrastructure, train financial services staff and ensure data privacy for users.
While a digital national currency does have the potential to mitigate key financial issues, we cannot ignore the democratic risks such a currency could introduce without safeguards.
Central banks worldwide are racing to implement national digital currencies, yet democratic considerations are hardly discussed in public. This has to change.