Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today, spoke on the Indian central bank digital currency (CBDC). During the press conference after monetary policy statement, T Rabi Sankar, deputy governor, RBI, stated that Digital Rupee will clock a million customers by June end.
From what it’s understood, RBI is developing CBDC QR codes which will be interoperable with Unified Payments Interface (UPI) mechanism. However, Sankar mentioned that exact date around unveiling of Digital Rupee for overall public still hasn’t been decided.
On November 29, 2022, a RBI press release informed on the pilot launch for retail Digital Rupee (e₹-R) on December 1, 2022. The press release also highlighted that the e₹-R would be like a digital token in representation of legal tender. “Users will be able to transact with e₹-R through a digital wallet offered by the participating banks and stored on mobile phones / devices. Transactions can be both Person to Person (P2P) and Person to Merchant (P2M). Payments to merchants can be made using QR codes displayed at merchant locations. The e₹-R would offer features of physical cash like trust, safety and settlement finality,” the press release stated.
Furthermore, the RBI press release specified the eight banks for “phase-wise participation in this pilot.” “The first phase will begin with four banks, viz., State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and IDFC First Bank in four cities across the country. Four more banks, viz., Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank will join this pilot subsequently” the press release concluded.
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