RBI’s e‑Rupee: How to Use India’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC‑R).
Banking & Finance
Since December 2022, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued the e‑Rupee (Digital Rupee)—a token‑based, digital version of sovereign currency—via a closed pilot to offer secure, cash‑equivalent transactions to consumers and merchants.
- The e‑Rupee (e₹) is India’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), fully backed by RBI, functioning like physical cash but in digital form. Retail version (CBDC‑R) launched December 1, 2022, alongside wholesale version (CBDC‑W) on November 1, 2022.
- Eligible users in pilot cities (e.g., New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar) can download the e‑Rupee wallet app from participating banks like State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank, Yes Bank, IDFC First, and more. Users must link their savings bank account and verify a debit card to load e‑Rupee tokens—no minimum balance required.
- Once e‑Rupee tokens are loaded, users can make person‑to‑person (P2P) and person‑to‑merchant (P2M) payments. Payments are made by scanning QR codes or entering recipient wallet details. Transfers are instant, work 24×7, and operate even outside regular banking hours.
Main Point :- (i) e‑Rupee offers near‑cash privacy: small transactions are less traceable by banks to ensure anonymity. Robust cybersecurity safeguards wallets, and funds can be recovered if the mobile device is lost. RBI is also developing offline transaction capabilities to allow usage without internet in remote areas.
(ii) e‑Rupee tokens mirror physical currency denominations (₹2, ₹5, ₹10, ₹20, ₹50, ₹100, ₹200, ₹500, ₹2,000, plus coins of 50 paise and ₹1). It is non-interest bearing, i.e., e‑Rupee doesn’t accrue interest like bank deposits. RBI positions e‑Rupee as a secure and cost-effective medium of exchange with instant settlement and no GST or capital gains tax implications.
(iii) Initially launched in four cities with increasing bank participation, the e‑Rupee network aims to expand to additional cities and banks like HDFC, Kotak, Union Bank, and Bank of Baroda. Retail usage has grown rapidly—from ₹16 crores (March 2023) to over ₹1,000 crores (March 2025)—with six million users and thousands of merchants on board.
About RBI
Governor : Sanjay Malhotra
Headquarter : Mumbai
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