Major internet and retail giants like Google, Amazon, and Walmart are showing a lot of interest in participating in the current pilot program for India’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), also known as the e-rupee, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
This latest development, according to a report by Reuters, is a demonstration of the popularity of digital currencies and the opportunity these businesses have to use their vast payment networks to advance the e-rupee’s adoption.
Beginning in December 2022, the e-rupee trial became exclusive to banks. But the RBI recently broadened the eligibility to include payment companies, so that services like PhonePe, Google Pay, and Amazon Pay may take part.
Between them, these businesses handle more than 85% of all digital currency payments made in India via the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), processing almost 13 billion transactions per month.
Increasing Participation In The Digital Currency Pilot
Expanding the test program was the right thing for RBI to do as part of its bigger plan to promote the e-rupee. The goal of this digital money project is to make financial deals safer and more efficient by turning them into digital files.
The action is also meant to guarantee that the digital currency is strong and dependable before its whole-scale use, therefore fostering public confidence in the new system.
Expanding the pilot helps the RBI to collect more information and insights on the use cases of the e-rupee, thereby improving the efficiency of the payment system and pushing for wider financial inclusion throughout the nation.
State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank are participants in the pilot program. After incorporating key payment systems, the central bank anticipates an increase in transaction volumes, and growing user engagement with the digital money.
Digital wallets enable users to hold and transfer e-rupees like cash. The pilot initiative began in New Delhi and Mumbai then expanded to Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. The RBI plans to expand the e-rupee’s partner finance institutions and venues one step at a time.
Will The Tech Giants’ Presence Make An Impact?
Although the number of digital currency transactions peaked at over a million per day at first, the use has since decreased to an average of 100,000 to 200,000 each day. It is anticipated that the RBI’s move to include well-known payment companies would spark renewed interest in digital currency and encourage more people to interact with it.
The RBI has said that the pilot program will continue for a number of years and that it does not currently have plans to introduce the e-rupee on a large scale. This meticulous method ensures that the digital money is tested and enhanced before widespread usage.
Featured image from Live Science, chart from TradingView
