India’s E-Rupee Hits 1 Mn Daily Transactions In December: Report

SUMMARY

The central bank digital currency (CBDC) which is called e-rupee, has been designed to be a digital alternative to physical cash

HDFC Bank, IDFC First Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and IDBI Bank issued employee benefit-related amounts to the employees’ CBDC wallets

Currently, banks are offering incentives for e-rupee transactions following a nudge from the RBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has met its target of 1 Mn daily transactions by the end of 2023, propelled by disbursal of some employee benefits by lenders via digital rupee in December, Reuters reported, citing sources close to the matter.

The RBI started its e-rupee pilot in December 2022 but transactions averaged only 25,000 a day by the end of October, even though its use case was significantly broadened by linking it to the popular United Payments Interface (UPI), a framework that facilitates peer-to-peer money transfer via mobile apps.