On November 29, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) declared that the retail version of the digital rupee (e₹-R) would launch its first pilot program on December 1, 2022.
You may remember that the RBI stated on October 31 that the pilot in e-R would start in one month.
The closed user groups (CUG) of participating customers and retailers would be the subject of the pilot’s coverage of a few specific locales.
Details about India will introduce its first retail digital rupee pilot on December
The e-R would take the shape of a digital token that stands in for money.
It would be given through banks in the same denominations that coins and paper money are currently issued in.
The RBI stated that users would be able to conduct transactions using e₹-R through a digital wallet provided by the participating banks and kept on mobile phones or other devices.
Both person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions are possible (P2M). QR codes that are displayed at retail places can be used to make payments to retailers.
The e₹-R would provide characteristics of actual cash, such as trust, safety, and finality of settlement. Like cash, it won’t accrue interest and can be changed into other kinds of payment like bank deposits.
“The pilot will test the stability of the complete creation, distribution, and retail use of digital rupees in real-time. Based on the lessons learned from this pilot, various features and applications of the e₹-R token and architecture will be examined in further pilots, the RBi stated.
Eight banks have been chosen to take part in this pilot project in phases. Four banks—State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank, and IDFC Initial Bank—will launch the first phase in four different locations across the nation.
Following that, this pilot will welcome four other banks: Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank.
In a statement, the RBI stated that the pilot program would initially focus on Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, and Bhubaneswar before expanding to include Ahmedabad, Gangtok, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Kochi, Lucknow, Patna, and Shimla.
According to the statement, the pilot’s parameters may be gradually expanded to cover other banks, users, and places.
