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RBI, banks plan new features to boost CBDC transactions
September 12, 2023
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is working with lenders to introduce new features to popularise the central bank digital currency (CBDC), the so-called e-rupee, according to six people familiar with the matter.
Retail CBDC transactions are averaging close to 18,000 a day, way short of the RBI’s one million-a-day target by 2023 end.
The features include allowing digital rupee transactions when a customer is offline and linking the e-rupee to India’s popular Unified Payments Interface (UPI), three of the people quoted above said.
UPI is an instant real-time payments system that allows users to transfer money across multiple banks without disclosing bank account details.
The sources declined to be identified as they are not authorised to speak to the media. The RBI did not respond to an email seeking comment.
The RBI has been urging banks to make the e-rupee inter-operable with UPI through a QR code, said two of the bankers quoted above.
The interoperability will allow payments to flow via already well-distributed UPI QRs, they said.
The facility, announced in June, has been activated by large banks, including State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender.
“Interoperability of UPI QR Code with digital rupee will remove friction but this will not drive adoption unless CBDC payments are incentivised,” said Sharat Chandra, co-founder of India Blockchain Forum, an industry collective.
“Interoperability of UPI QR Code with digital rupee will remove friction but this will not drive adoption unless CBDC payments are incentivised,” said Sharat Chandra, co-founder of India Blockchain Forum, an industry collective.
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