Economy
eNaira App Pulled Down from Google Play Store After Bad Reviews
By Dipo Olowookere
The eNaira application designed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and launched on Monday, October 25, 2021, in Abuja by President Muhammadu Buhari has been pulled down from Google Play Store.
On Wednesday, Business Post reported that the app, called eNaira Speed Wallet on the store for Android phone users, was getting negative reviews from Nigerians, who were disappointed with the process of registering for the app as required by the CBN.
Many users encountered problems after downloading the app from the play store. The main issue experienced was registering to create a wallet to enable them to enjoy the services.
For most users, including this reporter, the app keeps giving a message that the Bank Verification Number (BVN) provided does not have an email address attached to it and that the bank should be contacted for a solution.
As at the time this newspaper published the massive negative reviews of users on Google Play Store on Wednesday afternoon, there had been more than 100,000 downloads, while the average rating was 1.9.
But at about 8 pm or 9:20 pm on Wednesday, the app was no longer available on the play store for download as it has been pulled down. The reason for this was not immediately known and it was also not known if the app was removed briefly by Google or the developer.
Only the version of the mobile application for merchants, which is dubbed eNaira Speed Merchant Wallet, was still available for download (over 10,000 downloads already), though it was not without its own bad reviews.
One of the reviewers by the name of Stephen Tabi said, “I downloaded both applications in Google store and both proved to be difficult to register. It kept showing error bla, bla, bla. If from the take-off, hackers have already created their own app, I am afraid Nigerians will lose faith in the credibility of the project and I doubt if the safety of Nigerian transactions wallet will be guaranteed. CBN should act fast before Nigerians lose faith in the whole noble idea.”
“Why can’t we sign up? All information has been given and yet, registration is taking eternity [to be processed],” another reviewer, Adebayo Olumide Damilola, wrote.
Kolapo Nurain Olawale said, “I can’t sign up to this wallet, it shows that there is no available bank for now, what rubbish app is this?”
“I don’t understand this app, I can’t log in, it says try again later. CBN should fix the app very well before we can be using it,” a user, Maleek Shorunke said.
“Smooth download and registration but it hung at the last page where I was to submit. This stayed for over 20 minutes. At the time of typing, it’s still processing. The backend engineers need to be world-class else, there will be uncountable bugs,” DKM wrote.
Some observers have criticised the central bank for rushing to launch the eNaira. They said the bank should have taken the pain to sensitise Nigerians on the usage and benefits of the app, which is meant to be the digital version of the fiat Naira.
“The problems being encountered by users are expected because the CBN did not do due diligence before coming up with this project. It looks like a knee-jerk approach to me,” an Economist, Mr Odugbemi Gbenga, told Business Post.
“The CBN needs to go back to the drawing board and re-strategise and come up with a better project. In fact, it should not concern itself with performing as the citizens’ bank but remain as government’s bank,” Mr Odugbemi advised.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its stay in the south territory with a decline of 0.56 per cent on Wednesday, April 2.
This brought down the market capitalisation by N13 billion to N2.417 trillion from N2.430 trillion, and downed the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 22.57 points to 4,062.87 points from the previous session’s 4,062.87 points.
It was observed that the NASD exchange ended with three price gainers and three price losers during the trading day.
MRS Oil Plc depreciated by N19.00 to close at N171.00 per unit compared with the previous price of N190.00 per unit, NASD Plc lost N4.14 to trade at N37.36 per share compared with Wednesday’s N41.50 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gave up N2.00 to sell at N78.00 per unit versus N80.00 per unit.
On the flip side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by 19 Kobo to N93.00 per share from N92.81 per share, Food Concepts Plc expanded by 15 Kobo to N2.87 per unit from N2.72 per unit, and Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc improved by 2 Kobo to 52 Kobo per share from 50 Kobo per share.
Yesterday, the volume of securities dipped by 91.8 per cent to 260.2 million units from 3.2 billion units, the value of securities went down by 98.1 per cent to N154.2 million from N8.3 billion, while the number of deals soared by 53.3 per cent to 46 deals from 30 deals.
GNI Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 56.9 million units valued at N3.9 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.5 million units traded for N1.8 billion.
The most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was also GNI Plc with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.2 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units exchanged for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira dropped N2.09 or 0.15 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, April 2, to trade at N1,380.79/$1 compared with Wednesday’s rate of N1,378.70/$1.
However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N2.77 to quote at N1,824.86/£1 versus the N1,836.57/£1 it was traded at midweek, and improved its value against the Euro by N10.54 to N1,591.92/€1 from N1,602.46/€1.
Yesterday was the last trading session of the week for the local currency in the spot market, as the market will be closed on Friday and Monday for the Easter Holiday.
At the black market, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the greenback yesterday at N1,405/$1, but gained N8 at the GTBank FX counter to settle at N1,388/$1, in contrast to the previous session’s N1,396/$1.
Pressure eased on the domestic currency as strong policy indicators have helped calm the majority of worries within the financial systems. Particularly in the remittance segment, the apex bank has directed all International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) to route remittance transactions through designated Naira settlement accounts in banks, a move aimed at boosting transparency and channelling more foreign exchange into the formal market.
This helps take off pressure from the foreign reserves, which have fallen below the $50 billion mark as they are gradually decreasing rather than falling sharply.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bullish on Thursday, as macro sentiment shifted against recent optimism after reports that Iran is drafting a protocol with Oman to manage traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns about disruptions to a key global oil route.
The remarks came after U.S. President Trump on Wednesday night vowed to hit Iran “extremely hard” in the coming weeks and that the Strait of Hormuz would “open naturally” once the war ends.
Cardano (ADA) chalked up 1.9 per cent to trade at $0.2435, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 1.2 per cent to $0.0912, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 0.8 per cent to $2,066.37, Bitcoin (BTC) added 0.5 per cent to sell at $67,080.53, Solana (SOL) increased by 0.5 per cent to $79.91, and Ripple (XRP) jumped 0.2 per cent to $1.31.
Conversely, Binance Coin (BNB) dipped 0.7 per cent to $586.90, and TRON (TRX) depreciated by 0.3 per cent to $0.3147, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
The local stock market was relatively flat on Friday, as the bears and the bulls shared the spoils of war, though investor sentiment turned bullish compared with the preceding session’s bearish posture.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed that the All-Share Index (ASI) was marginally down by 4.66 points as it ended at 201,698.89 points versus Wednesday’s 201,703.55 points, and the market capitalisation slightly contracted by N3 billion to N129.806 trillion from N129.809 trillion.
Customs Street was shut on Friday because of the public holidays declared by the federal government today and next Monday.
Business Post reports that John Holt declined by 9.91 per cent to N15.45, Abbey Mortgage Bank shed 9.60 per cent to trade at N8.95, International Energy Insurance slipped by 6.48 per cent to N3.32, Chams shrank by 5.30 per cent to N3.75, and Tantalizers depreciated by 5.18 per cent to N4.03.
On the flip side, Unilever Nigeria improved by 10.00 per cent to N103.40, Fortis Global Insurance gained 9.82 per cent to trade at N1.23, Multiverse appreciated 9.81 per cent to N20.15, Legend Internet advanced by 9.38 per cent to N6.30, and Zichis grew by 9.02 per cent to N14.14.
The market breadth index was positive during the trading session, as there were 35 appreciating stocks and 24 depreciating stocks.
Yesterday, investors traded 560.0 million equities valued at N19.3 billion in 49,676 deals, in contrast to the 815.5 million equities worth N33.3 billion transacted in 52,641 deals in the preceding day, representing a drop in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 31.33 per cent, 42.04 per cent, and 5.63 per cent, respectively.
Secure Electronic Technology dominated the activity log with 59.7 million shares valued at N61.1 million, Wema Bank exchanged 52.0 million equities worth N1.4 billion, VFD Group transacted 36.0 million stocks for N410.5 million, Access Holdings sold 35.3 million shares valued at N914.8 million, and Chams traded 31.0 million equities worth N115.0 million.
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