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The Reserve Bank of India announced Tuesday that it will begin testing its retail central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital rupee, in Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, and Bhubaneswar, with the participation of four banks, including the State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank, and IDFC First Bank.
The decision to begin the pilot on December 1 was made in October. During her February budget statement, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman disclosed intentions to launch a digital rupee in the fiscal year ending in 2023. The fiscal year in India concludes on February 28.
The CBDC will be tested with a small group of consumers and merchants, and it will be issued in the same denominations as notes and coins. Payments to merchants will be done via QR codes, and the digital rupee, like cash, will not generate interest.
The pilot initiative will be expanded to nine more cities and four further universities in the future, according to the RBI in the statement.
“Eight banks have been identified for phase-wise participation in this pilot. The first phase will begin with four banks, viz., State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and IDFC First Bank in four cities across the country. Four more banks, viz., Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank will join this pilot subsequently. The pilot would initially cover four cities, viz., Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar and later extend to Ahmedabad, Gangtok, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Kochi, Lucknow, Patna and Shimla. “