Reserve Bank of India Urges Lenders to Expand Digital Rupee Offerings

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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has invited a broader range of lenders to participate in pilot programs involving the central bank digital currency (CBDC), aiming to increase the volume of transactions, according to three anonymous bankers who spoke to Reuters on Wednesday.

A recent survey conducted by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) revealed that nearly two dozen central banks from both emerging and advanced economies are projected to introduce digital currencies into circulation by the end of the decade.

Last year, the RBI initiated trials utilizing CBDCs, referred to as e-rupees, in both the wholesale and retail markets.

Several Indian banks are participating in the CBDC pilot

Currently, several major state-owned and private lenders, including State Bank of India (SBI.NS), Bank of Baroda (BOB.NS), ICICI Bank (ICBK.NS), HDFC Bank (HDBK.NS), Kotak Mahindra Bank (KTKM.NS), and Yes Bank (YESB.NS), are participating in the pilot project.

The technology head of a state-owned bank, who attended a meeting with RBI officials on Tuesday, stated,

“The RBI has requested smaller banks to either form partnerships with fintech players or develop their own systems to initiate CBDC pilots this year. We will now have to solicit proposals to engage interested fintech partners and assess the associated costs. This process is expected to take approximately four to five months.”

The bankers preferred to remain anonymous, as they were not authorized to speak to the media.

RBI Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar announced on Tuesday that the RBI aims to achieve a target of one million CBDC transactions per day by the end of this year. He further added that by June 2023, there were 1.3 million customers and 0.3 million merchants actively utilizing the CBDC.

The central bank has also instructed smaller banks to seek feedback from those currently conducting the pilots, as reported by the bankers.