MobiKwik Becomes First Fintech To Fully Roll Out CBDC

MobiKwik Becomes First Fintech To Fully Roll Out CBDC

SUMMARY

MobiKwik has announced the launch of the full version of its e₹ wallet in collaboration with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Yes Bank

This marks the introduction of India's Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) into the fintech space

This comes after RBI last year in April proposed to extend the CBDC accessibility to a broader user base. The move then opened the doors for non-bank payment operators to make CBDC transactions which were only limited to the banks earlier

Fintech major MobiKwik claims to have become the first fintech to roll out a full-scale Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) wallet and e-rupee (e₹), in collaboration with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Yes Bank.

In a statement, the company said that the e-rupee wallet enables users to transfer funds to other e-rupee wallets and regular bank accounts through UPI. It supports both peer-to-peer (P2P) and peer-to-merchant (P2M) transactions. For instance, users can easily scan and pay using e-rupee on any UPI QR code, as it is fully compatible with UPI. The transaction limit for the e-rupee wallet is set at INR 50,000 as of now. 

“We expect that CBDC will make the Indian rupee digital and further expand the digital economy. e₹ transfers can be made to anyone with an e₹ wallet or UPI ID. Our goal is to drive the adoption of e₹ in India and move towards a less cash economy,” the company’s cofounder and MD Bipin Preet Singh said. 

MobiKwik added that its userbase of existing full KYC users will immediately be able to open an e-rupee wallet and load it from their bank account. However, new users will have to complete video KYC before they can open an e-rupee wallet.

It is pertinent to mention that fintech unicorn CRED also announced the launch of CRED e-ruppe wallet in beta phase earlier today. In a post on X, CRED founder Kunal Shah said that the launch wasn’t just another fintech play but a fundamental shift in “how India moves money: instant, programmable, RBI backed”.

The RBI, in April last year, proposed to extend CBDC accessibility to a broader user base. The move then opened the doors for non-bank payment operators to make CBDC transactions, which were only limited to the banks earlier. 

As per the RBI data, 15 banks are currently offering CBDC wallets, including SBI, ICICI Bank, IDFC First Bank, YES BANK, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, among others. 

The development comes days after MobiKwik joined hands with Piramal Capital and Housing Finance (Piramal Finance) to offer personal loans of up to INR 2 Lakh to users across the country.

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