India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has revealed that as of June, there were five million digital rupee users and 420,000 merchants participating in the retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot. The RBI emphasized that the digital rupee is designed to complement cash and existing payment systems, serving both wholesale and retail sectors.

Digital Rupee Garners 5 Million Users

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released a report on Currency and Finance 2023-24 on Monday. One of the key highlights was the progress of the central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot, also known as the digital rupee.

“The introduction of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) on a pilot basis in 2022 is
the latest innovation which would entail a ‘more efficient and cheaper currency management system,’” RBI stated. “Digital currency is expected to complement cash and current payment systems.”

The Indian central bank disclosed that as of June, there were 5 million digital rupee users and 420,000 merchants participating in the retail pilot, stating:

As of June 2024, 50 lakh users and 4.2 lakh merchants were participating in the CBDC retail pilot.

The RBI explained that CBDCs can be categorized into wholesale and retail based on their usage. The wholesale CBDC “caters to institutional participants of the financial markets,” while the retail CBDC is “a risk-free digital medium of exchange for the retail consumers.” The initial use cases for the retail CBDC pilot included Person to Person (P2P) and Person to Merchant (P2M) transactions. The pilot also explored additional use cases utilizing programmable and offline functionalities.

The RBI report notes:

In May 2024, India was among the 36 countries where CBDC was in pilot stage.

This initiative is part of India’s broader digital revolution, which also includes the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) that has transformed retail payments. The report underscores how digital rupee adoption promotes financial inclusion, modernizes the payment infrastructure, and supports affordable financial services. Furthermore, the integration of the digital rupee with international payment systems is expected to enhance cross-border transactions, positioning India as a leader in the global digital economy.

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