Central Bank of India, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has revealed that it currently has 50,000 users and 5,000 merchants using its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Digital rupee transactions are currently being processed by eight banks, with five more banks expected to join the pilot soon, said RBI Deputy Governor T. Rabi Sankar.
Digital His rupee user count now stands at 50,000
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor T. Ravi Sankar said Wednesday that the central bank’s digital currency pilot has reached its first milestone.
RBI officials have revealed that India’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) currently has 50,000 users and is accepted by 5,000 merchants. The retail digital rupee pilot, which launched on Dec. 1 last year, has been implemented in five of his cities in India, while the central bank plans to add nine more cities over time. To date, approximately 770,000 digital rupee transactions have been processed at his eight banks. RBI plans to add five more banks to the pilot soon.
The Governor of the Central Bank emphasized that the Reserve Bank of India intends to proceed cautiously with the Digital Rupee Initiative, avoiding taking action without fully understanding the potential implications.
“We have a target in terms of users, sellers. We’re going to take it slow,” he emphasized, furthering: We are not in a hurry to accomplish anything.
Reliance Retail, India’s largest retailer, announced last week plans to accept payments in digital rupees. The retail chain has partnered with ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and fintech Innoviti Technologies to add support for central bank digital currencies on its national gourmet store line Freshpik.
According to his CBDC tracker for the Atlantic Council, 114 countries, accounting for more than 95% of his global GDP, are currently considering central bank digital currencies.
RBI remains skeptical of cryptocurrencies
Meanwhile, India’s central bank continues to recommend a complete ban on cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ether. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has warned that cryptocurrencies are a risk to the country’s financial system and could lead to the next financial crisis if not banned.
Furthermore, the RBI governor last month said that “cryptocurrencies have no fundamental value” and warned that they would “undermine the powers of the RBI and lead to dollarization of the economy.” Other RBI officials have similarly warned that cryptocurrencies could lead to the dollarization of parts of India’s economy, which “would go against the country’s sovereignty.”
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