RBI CBDC: Digital Rupee pilot starts from November 1; SBI, HDFC, 7 other banks to participate in wholesale launch (2024)

FAQs

Which banks participate in RBI digital currency? ›

RBI began the pilot project wholesale CBDC and picked up nine banks -- State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, YES Bank, IDFC First Bank, and HSBC.

IndusInd Bank on Monday announced the successful execution of the Reserve Bank of India's programmable Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot, marking the first such instance by any bank.

On October 7, 2022, the Reserve Bank of India issued the concept note for CBDC and launched the pilot project for both wholesale (e₹-W) and retail (e₹-R) markets. Entering the club of over 130 countries exploring the possibilities of CBDCs.

The Reserve Bank of India is set to launch the pilot of its central bank digital currency (CBDC), which it categorizes as legal tender in a digital form. Commonly known as the digital rupee, it will be exchangeable at par with existing currencies and will be considered acceptable for payments and a safe store of value.

BNY Mellon, Citigroup, PNC, TD Bank, Truist, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo are among the financial institutions participating in the New York Fed test, along with Mastercard and SWIFT.

Is the US Going to Digital Dollar? As of June 2024, the US Federal Reserve has not decided to transition to a CBDC or supplement its existing monetary system with one. It is researching the effects a CBDC would have on the dollar, the US, and the global economy.

CBDC creates a central point for all of a region's currencies to originate, rather than diversify funds across banks around the region. Blockchains also doubles as an immutable ledger that automatically tracks all payments made across the network.

You can load the CBDC wallet and redeem the wallet balance to your linked bank account in seconds. Going ahead, multiple new functionalities and use cases shall continue to be explored. Currently, the pilot is ongoing with 13 banks providing this facility for their customers.

A central bank digital currency (CBDC) is a form of digital currency issued by a country's central bank. It is similar to cryptocurrencies, except that its value is fixed by the central bank and is equivalent to the country's fiat currency.

What is the price of CBDC today? ›

Today's price of CBDC is $0.0000381, with a 24-hour trading volume of $13.67. CBDC is -5.31% in the last 24 hours, with a circulating supply of -- CBDC coins and a maximum supply of 1.00B CBDC coins. CBDC ranks -- by market cap.

CBDCs can aid in extending the public's access to public funds. The adoption of digital payments can be accelerated by central banks with the support of CBDCs, especially when the market and profit opportunities are insufficient to spur private sector innovation and handle the associated risks.

The pilot project aims to test the robustness of the entire process of digital rupee creation, distribution and retail usage in real-time. The project is currently testing the use cases of person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions.

CBDC initiative in India

The RBI is rolling out the digital currency via an intermediary model, with initial participation from eight banks in the country. As of February 2023, this pilot project was being conducted in five cities within closed user groups comprising merchants and customers on an invitation-basis only.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank continue to remain Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs).