RBI`s retail digital rupee on Dec 1 |
The Reserve Bank of India is all set to launch its first pilot for retail digital rupee on December 1. In an official release, the central bank said that the currency would be in the form of a digital token that represents legal tender. It would be issued in the same denominations that paper currency and coins are currently issued," the release said. It further noted that the pilot would cover select locations in a closed user group (CUG) comprising participating customers and merchants. The digital rupee will be distributed through banks, and users will be able to transact with it through a digital wallet offered by the participating banks and stored on mobile phones/devices, the RBI said. However, as in the case of cash, the digital currency will not earn any interest and can be converted to other forms of money, like deposits with banks. The central bank also said that transactions through e₹-R can be both person-to-person (P2P) and person to the merchant (P2M). The RBI said that it has identified eight banks for phase-wise participation in this pilot. These include the State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank, and IDFC First Bank. The four banks will participate in the first phase across 4 cities in the country. Four more banks, namely, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank will join this pilot subsequently, the RBI said. RBI said, "The pilot would initially cover four cities, viz., Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, and Bhubaneswar and later extended to Ahmedabad, Gangtok, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Kochi, Lucknow, Patna, and Shimla. The scope of the pilot may be expanded gradually to include more banks, users, and locations as needed."
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