India’s Central Bank Considers New Features to Boost Digital Rupee Transactions
India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), is reportedly exploring new features to enhance digital rupee transactions. The RBI aims to increase the number of daily retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) transactions to one million by the end of 2023. Currently, the average daily retail CBDC transactions in India are significantly lower at around 18,000. One of the proposed features includes the ability to conduct digital rupee transactions offline. Additionally, the RBI is considering integrating the e-rupee with India’s widely used Unified Payments Interface (UPI), a real-time payments system that enables seamless money transfers across multiple banks. The central bank has been urging banks to enable e-rupee interoperability with UPI through QR codes. Discussions are also underway to allow the use of e-rupee in offline situations for both customers and merchants.
HDFC Bank Partners with IDEMIA for Offline CBDC Transactions
HDFC Bank, one of India’s top private lenders, is reportedly collaborating with technology firm IDEMIA to develop a version of offline central bank digital currency (CBDC) transactions specifically designed for feature phones. This partnership aims to expand the accessibility of CBDC transactions beyond smartphones and internet connectivity. While HDFC Bank has not confirmed these plans, insiders familiar with the matter have disclosed the collaboration. During the recent G20 summit, India demonstrated its digital rupee initiative to foreign delegates by allowing them to exchange foreign currency for India’s CBDC. The Reserve Bank of India has set a target of one million digital rupee transactions per day by the end of this year.
Hot Take: India’s Push for Digital Rupee Adoption
India’s central bank is actively pursuing strategies to enhance the adoption of digital rupee transactions. By exploring features such as offline transactions and integration with the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the Reserve Bank of India aims to make digital rupee more convenient and accessible for users. The collaboration between HDFC Bank and IDEMIA to enable offline CBDC transactions for feature phones further demonstrates the country’s commitment to expanding CBDC usage beyond traditional channels. With the recent showcase of digital rupee at the G20 summit, India is positioning itself as a leader in digital payments and highlighting the potential of its central bank digital currency. Achieving the target of one million digital rupee transactions per day by the end of the year will be a significant milestone in India’s digital currency journey.
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