India to pilot retail CBDC in December

On 1 December, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) запустит a pilot project to test the retail digital rupee. The tests will involve a ‘closed group of users’, consisting of consumers and merchants.

In the first phase, testing will take place in Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar. In the future, the pilot will be expanded to nine more cities.

According to the press release, the retail CBDC will be distributed through intermediaries, which will be banks. State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and IDFC First Bank have already joined the initiative. RBI also intends to bring four lending institutions into the project.

“Users will be able to transact with the digital rupee through wallets offered by participating banks […]. P2P transactions and transfers to merchants are envisaged. Payments to merchants can be made using QR codes,” the statement said.

The RBI emphasised that the CBDC has properties akin to paper banknotes. In particular, accounts held in digital rupees will not bear interest, though they can be converted into bank deposits.

Earlier in October, the RBI announced the launch of a pilot project to test CBDC in wholesale payments.

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