New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India’s efforts to boost e-rupee transactions may receive a major boost from the readiness of fintech giants led by Google Pay, PhonePe and Amazon Pay to participate in a pilot project for the central bank digital currency.
The central bank’s e-rupee pilot project is also expected to witness the participation of homegrown fintech companies Cred and MobiKwik. While Google Pay is owned by tech giant Alphabet’s subsidiary Google India, PhonePe is owned by US retail giant Walmart. Amazon Pay is owned by the e-commerce giant’s domestic arm Amazon India.
What is CBDC?
RBI launched CBDC in December 2022, with a blockchain-backed infrastructure that ensures the transparency of transactions and checks money laundering.
As of date, the following banks were part of RBI’s CBDC project, according to NPCI:
Sr. No.
Bank Name
1
AU Small Finance Bank
2
Axis Bank
3
Bank of Baroda
4
Bank of India
5
Bank of Maharashtra
6
Canara Bank
7
Central Bank of India
8
Federal Bank
9
HDFC Bank
10
ICICI Bank
11
IndusInd Bank
12
Indian Bank
13
Indian Overseas Bank
14
Karnataka Bank
15
Karur Vysya Bank
16
Kotak Bank
17
Paytm Payment Banks
18
Punjab National Bank
19
State Bank of India
20
UCO Bank
21
Union Bank of India
22
Yes Bank
ERUPI, the name of the RBI CBDC, is a digital token that equals legal tender, according to an official statement. ERUPI does not require an individual to open a bank account and will be held on their phone in a digital wallet.
Why RBI is tapping Google Pay, PhonePe and others?
In 2023, eRUPI transactions hit a record high of 1 million per day. They have since moderated to 1-2 lakh transactions per day, Reuters reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The move to include payment processors in eRUPI transactions is expected to boost transaction volumes.
These payment platforms will work closely with the RBi and the National Payments Corp of India (NPCI) to integrate eRUPI into their applications. PhonePe dominates UPI-led digital payments in India, followed by Google Pay. Amazon Pay, Cred and MobiKwik together with PhonePe and Google Pay make up for 85 per cent of India’s monthly 13 billion UPI transactions. E-rupee remains in the pilot stage for now with the RBI showing no immediate plans to undertake a full-fledged CBDC rollout, Reuters reported, citing another person familiar with the matter.
RBI eRUPI pilot programme: Google Pay, PhonePe, Amazon Pa, Cred and MobiKwik are reportedly working with RBI and NPCI to rollout eRUPI functionality on their apps. Biz News Business News – Personal Finance News, Share Market News, BSE/NSE News, Stock Exchange News Today
