{"id":2959,"date":"2023-09-11T12:46:11","date_gmt":"2023-09-11T12:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/india-cenbank-banks-plan-new-features-to-boost-digital-currency-the-express-tribune\/"},"modified":"2023-09-11T12:46:11","modified_gmt":"2023-09-11T12:46:11","slug":"india-cenbank-banks-plan-new-features-to-boost-digital-currency-the-express-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/india-cenbank-banks-plan-new-features-to-boost-digital-currency-the-express-tribune\/","title":{"rendered":"India cenbank, banks plan new features to boost digital currency | The Express Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u00a0The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is working with lenders to introduce new features to popularise the central bank digital currency (CBDC), the so-called e-rupee, according to six people familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n

Retail CBDC transactions are averaging close to 18,000 a day, way\u00a0short<\/a>\u00a0of the RBI’s one million-a-day target by 2023 end.<\/p>\n

The features include allowing digital rupee transactions when a customer is offline and linking the e-rupee to India’s popular Unified Payments Interface (UPI), three of the people quoted above said.<\/p>\n

UPI is an instant real-time payments system that allows users to transfer money across multiple banks without disclosing bank account details.<\/p>\n

The sources declined to be identified as they are not authorised to speak to the media. The RBI did not respond to an email seeking comment.<\/p>\n

The RBI has been urging banks to make the e-rupee inter-operable with UPI through a QR code, said two of the bankers quoted above.<\/p>\n

The interoperability will allow payments to flow via already well-distributed UPI QRs, they said.<\/p>\n

The facility, announced in June, has been activated by large banks, including State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender.<\/p>\n

“Interoperability of UPI QR Code with digital rupee will remove friction … but this will not drive adoption unless CBDC payments are incentivised,” said Sharat Chandra, co-founder of India Blockchain Forum, an industry collective.<\/p>\n

The RBI and banks are also discussing ways to allow the use of e-rupee when a customer and a merchant are offline, according to two sources involved in the pilot project.<\/p>\n

While the RBI is examining technology proposals, it hasn’t approved any of them, said the source familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n

Top private lender HDFC Bank is working with a technology firm IDEMIA to build a version of offline CBDC transactions for feature phones, according to two people aware of the plans.<\/p>\n

HDFC Bank declined to comment.<\/p>\n

CBDC’s new and unique use cases such as its offline mode would facilitate transactions without network connectivity, said Akhil Handa, a top executive at Bank of Baroda.<\/p>\n

“As new features get added, a gradual pickup in retail CBDC transaction volumes will follow,” said Handa.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n