Launch of digital rupee (e?-R) on December 01, 2022

The Reserve Bank announces the launch of the first pilot for retail digital rupee (e?-R) on December 01, 2022

• The pilot would cover selected locations in closed user group (CUG) comprising participating customers and merchants.?
• The e?-R would be in the form of a digital token that represents legal tender. It would be issued in the same denominations that paper currency and coins are currently issued.?
• It would be distributed through intermediaries, i.e., banks.?
• Users will be able to transact with e?-R through a digital wallet offered by the participating banks and stored on mobile phones / devices.
• As per RBI press release dated Nov 29 - 2022, The transactions can be both Person to Person (P2P) and Person to Merchant (P2M). Payments to merchants can be made using QR codes displayed at merchant locations.
• The Press release also states that Eight banks have been identified for phase-wise participation in this pilot and the pilot would initially cover four cities, viz., Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar and later extend to Ahmedabad, Gangtok, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Kochi, Lucknow, Patna and Shimla.?
• The scope of the pilot may be expanded gradually to include more banks, users and locations as needed.

Source : RBI