e-Rupee: What You Need to Know about India’s first Digital Currency

December 3, 2022

Last Updated Date: December 4, 2022

India Digital Currency — Photo: Collected

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Digital Rupee is a digital token that can be used as money. It is also called the e-Rupee. The digital Rupee, on the other hand, comes in the same amounts as paper money and coins.

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RBI said that the first pilot for Digital Rupee in retail would begin.
On December 1, the first test of the Digital Rupee, also called the e-rupee, will begin.
RBI has formed partnerships with four banks in four cities.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced on Tuesday that the first pilot for the retail digital Rupee, or e-rupee, will begin on December 1. First, the RBI is working with four banks in Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, and Bhubaneswar. These banks are the State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank, and IDFC First Bank. RBI said that at first, the pilot would only include the participating customers and merchants in the closed user group (CUG).

What is Digital Rupee or e-Rupee?

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) says that the e-Rupee is a digital token that can be used as legal money. In contrast to cryptocurrencies, the digital Rupee comes in the same amounts as paper money and coins.

How will Digital Rupee work?

The RBI said that customers and merchants will get e-Rupee, also called digital Rupee, through middlemen like banks. Users will be able to use e-Rupee through a digital wallet provided by eligible banks and stored on mobile phones or other devices.

The central bank also confirmed that digital Rupee transactions can be made from one person to another (P2P) and from one person to a business (P2M) (P2M). Users will be able to pay for things with an e-Rupee by scanning QR codes at stores, just like they do when they shop online. “The e-Rupee, like actual money, would provide confidence, security, and a final settlement.” As with cash, it will not earn any interest and can be changed into other forms of money, such as bank deposits, according to a release from the RBI.

RBI also said that the pilot will test the “robustness of the whole process of creating, distributing, and using digital rupees in retail in real-time.” Based on what was learned from this pilot, future pilots will test different parts and uses of the e-Rupee token and its architecture.

List of Eligible Banks and Cities?

The central bank said that the digital Rupee will be made available in stages. In the first phase, the pilot will start with only four banks and four cities: State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank, and IDFC First Bank. Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, and Bhubaneswar are some of these cities. RBI said that in the future, four more banks, including Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank, will join the pilot.

Later, the service will be available in many more Indian cities, such as Ahmedabad, Gangtok, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Kochi, Lucknow, Patna, and Shimla. The facility will eventually be used in other parts of the country. We don’t yet know when the official rollout will happen. RBI said that the pilot could be made bigger over time to include more banks, users, and places as needed.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been talking about putting out a digital Rupee for a long time. On December 1, some users will be able to use e-Rupee to pay for things. The main goal of the central bank with the digital Rupee is to launch the CBDC (central bank digital currency) fully in the near future.