By Sodeinde Temidayo David
The disappearance of the recently-launched eNaira from the Google Play Store on Wednesday has continued to cause confusion but the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which designed the mobile application has explained why this happened.
The Director of Corporate Communications of the CBN, Mr Osita Nwanisobi, on Thursday at a fair organised in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, disclosed that the app was pulled down for an important upgrade aimed at tackling glitches noticed.
On Monday, October 25, President Muhammadu Buhari launched the electronic version of the Naira in Abuja in the presence of the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele.
But after the app became active, Nigerians who downloaded it complained bitterly about the difficulty in registering as required to use it, getting a lot of poor reviews on the Play Store and yesterday, it was pulled down.
Mr Nwanisobi said the disappearance is only temporary as the upgraded version would soon be uploaded for Nigerians to use.
The eNaira is a direct liability of the apex bank and was built on a blockchain open ledger technology that prevents duplication or creation of fake units, each eNaira note will be unique and different.
Business Post had earlier reported that the e-Naira Speed Wallet app had over 100,000 downloads before it went missing, though the version of the mobile application for merchants, which is called eNaira Speed Merchant Wallet, is still available for download.
Also, both the eNaira speed wallet and speed merchant wallet apps are still very much available on App Store for iPhone users.
According to Google Play, an app can be removed from its store for violating policies that state that at a minimum, apps should provide users with a basic degree of functionality and a respectful user experience.
Also, apps that crash, exhibit other behaviours that are not consistent with a functional user experience are not allowed on Google Play.
Mr Nwanisobi noted that the app is expected to be back today upon completion of the upgrade for Andriod users.
Following reports of activities of fraudsters, the CBN has warned users to be careful, stressing that it will not be held liable for any loss, whether arising from, or in connection with the use of the eNaira website.
