RBI to start retail digital rupee pilot on December 1

The Reserve Bank of India’s first pilot for retail e-rupee, its version of the central bank digital currency (CBDC) will be launched on December 1, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

The pilot would cover select locations in a closed user group comprising participating customers and merchants, the central bank said.

“It would be issued in the same denominations that paper currency and coins are currently issued,” the statement added. . It would be distributed through intermediaries such as banks,”

The RBI has been running a pilot of the wholesale e-rupee since November 1, with nine banks transacting in government securities using the e-rupee.