India’s central bank’s (CBDC) recently launched digital currency – the digital rupee – is currently being tested for offline functionality, said Ajay Kumar Choudhary, executive director of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
RBI – India’s central bank and regulatory body – launched a wholesale segment pilot for the digital rupee on November 1, 2022, providing 50,000 users and 5,000 merchants for real-world testing. As of February 25, around $134 million and 800,000 transactions have been completed through wholesale CBDCs.
Building on this progress, Choudhary said the RBI is looking at the offline functionality of CBDC. Speaking to CNBC TV18, he said that the RBI is gauging the potential of CBDCs for cross-border transactions and its linkages with legacy systems in other countries. He added:
“We are eagerly looking forward to the participation of the private sector and fintechs in CBDC. We will see their contribution, especially in offline and cross-border CBDC transactions.
Moreover, speaking on behalf of the RBI, Choudhary said that CBDC will soon become a medium of exchange and will require all the features of physical currency, including anonymity.
India’s motivation for launching a CBDC is to increase regional financial inclusion and lead the digital economy. Choudhary also told CNBC TV18 that CBDC will eventually become a replacement for cryptocurrencies.
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On February 21, India’s national payment network, unified payment interface (UPI), expanded its services to Singapore.
UPI goes Global!
Ever since UPI was introduced as a payment system in India, it has revolutionized the lives of Indians, but in fact, India’s digital payment system continues to be globally attractive & adopted by other countries.#indiafirst #IndiaSingaporeRelations pic.twitter.com/55sGh5bzbZ
— MyGovIndia (@mygovindia) February 21, 2023
PayNow’s UPI integration allows citizens from India and Singapore to send money quickly.
Initially, India’s four major banks – State Bank of India, Overseas Bank of India, Bank of India and ICICI Bank – will facilitate remittances. Axis Bank and DBS Bank India will facilitate incoming remittances. DBS Bank and Liquid Group Singapore will provide the service to users in the region.