E-rupee worth over Rs 130 Cr in circulation: FM Sitharaman

Digital or e-rupee worth over Rs 130 crore is in circulation on a pilot basis as of February 28, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched pilots in digital rupee (e?-R) in the wholesale segment on November 1, 2022, and in the retail segment on December 1, 2022.

Nine banks, including State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Yes Bank, IDFC First Bank, and HSBC, are participating in the digital rupee wholesale pilot, Sitharaman said.

"As on February 28, 2023, the total digital rupee—retail and digital rupee—wholesale in circulation is Rs 4.14 crore and Rs 126.27 crore, respectively," Sitharaman said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

The e?-R is in the form of a digital token that represents legal tender. It is issued in the same denominations that paper currency and coins are currently issued.

It is distributed through financial intermediaries, i.e., banks. Users can transact with e?-R through a digital wallet offered by the participating banks and stored on mobile phones/devices.

The e?-R pilot for the retail segment was launched on December 1, 2022, in five select locations in a closed user group for making person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions.

The onboarded merchants comprise various segments like tea vendors, fruit sellers, street side and sidewalk vendors (including migrant fruit vendors selling on the pavement opposite the RBI's headquarters, Mumbai), small shopkeepers, etc.," Sitharaman said.

Further, institutional merchants like retail chains, petrol pumps, etc., have also been onboarded to enable transactions in digital rupee across various outlets.

Few online merchants have also been enabled to accept the digital rupee for the convenience of users.

In the approximately three months of the pilot, the total digital rupee - retail in circulation in the select locations is Rs 4.14 crore, the minister said.

"Various use cases, technological architecture, and design features are tested during the pilot... Further steps, including expansion of use case, have to be through a phased implementation strategy on the basis of feedback received during the pilots," Sitharaman added.