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Five payment companies, including Google Pay, PhonePe, and Amazon Pay, have applied to join the RBI’s eRupee pilot program.
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The RBI launched the eRupee pilot in December 2022, but transaction volumes have declined significantly since an initial surge.
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Allowing popular payment apps to offer eRupee transactions is seen as a strategic move to boost adoption and expand the user base.
Payment Companies Eye Entry into eRupee Pilot Program
Google Pay, PhonePe, Amazon Pay, Cred, and MobiKwik have submitted applications to join the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) pilot program for the eRupee, India’s central bank digital currency (CBDC). The RBI launched the eRupee pilot in December 2022, but transaction volumes have declined significantly since an initial surge.
Strategic Move to Boost Adoption
Allowing these popular payment apps to offer eRupee transactions is seen as a strategic move to boost adoption and expand the user base. Collectively, these five companies account for over 85% of digital payments processed through India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which handles an average of 13 billion transactions per month.
Cautious Rollout
Despite efforts to promote the eRupee, the RBI is taking a cautious approach to its rollout. The central bank has no immediate plans to do a full-scale launch of the digital currency, and the eRupee is likely to stay in the pilot stage for the next couple of years.
