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The digital rupee is a digital version of India's currency, designed to be fast, secure, and efficient. It's issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and is expected to be a game-changer for the country's economy.
The digital rupee is built on a distributed ledger technology, similar to blockchain, which ensures that all transactions are recorded and verified in real-time. This provides a high level of security and transparency.
The RBI has already conducted several pilots to test the digital rupee, and the results have been promising. The digital rupee has shown to be faster and more efficient than traditional payment systems.
As the digital rupee becomes more widely available, it's likely to have a significant impact on the way we make payments in India.
What Is
The Digital Rupee is a form of digital currency issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country's central bank. It's a virtual money that serves the same purpose as physical money.
The Digital Rupee is a centralized digital currency directly regulated by the RBI, maintaining the stability and trust associated with traditional currencies. This means you can trust it just like you do with cash.
It's exchangeable one-to-one at par (1:1) with existing currency, making it a direct claim on the central bank.
Benefits
The Digital Rupee is a game-changer for India's economy. It's a digital form of physical cash, available in all denominations.
With the Digital Rupee, you can load your e₹ wallet via a linked Bank of Baroda account or UPI from any bank. This makes it easy to start using the digital currency.
You can send e₹ to your friends and family instantly, as long as they have an e₹ wallet or UPI QR. No more waiting for money to be transferred!
The Digital Rupee also allows you to pay merchants using it as a payment option. This makes transactions more convenient and efficient.
One of the benefits of the Digital Rupee is that you can avoid small amount transactions from your account statement. This can save you time and reduce clutter in your bank account.
Here are some key benefits of the Digital Rupee at a glance:
- Load Wallet: Load your e₹ wallet via linked Bank of Baroda account or UPI from any Bank.
- Send Money Instantly to Friends and Family: You can send e₹ to your friends and family, provided they have an e₹ Wallet or UPI QR.
- Receive Instant e₹ Payments: Get instant money in your e₹ wallet from friends 24/7 as all transactions are instant.
- Digital form of physical cash: Digital Rupee is the digital form of physical cash. All denominations available.
- Pay to Merchants: You can use Digital Rupee to pay merchants using it as a payment option
- Send or receive money instantly: Send or receive money to/from anyone, using their Mobile No. or QR Code.
- Avoid small amount transactions: Avoid small amount transactions from your account statement
Features
The digital rupee is a game-changer, and its features are truly impressive. It's issued by the Reserve Bank of India and is legally recognized as a secure form of payment.
One of the most exciting aspects of the digital rupee is its UPI interoperability for payments, making transactions seamless and efficient. This means you can use it for all types of transactions, from paying bills to buying groceries.
Here are some key features of the digital rupee:
- Sovereign Currency issued by Central Bank.
- Liability on Central Bank’s Balance Sheet.
- Accepted as the medium of payment as legal tender.
- Lowers cost of issuance of Money and transactions.
- Features UPI interoperability for payments.
- UPI intent and auto load wallet.
The digital rupee also gives you the freedom to convert it into physical cash through commercial banks, making it a versatile option for all your financial needs.
How It Works
The Digital Rupee is a digital currency issued and controlled by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), using blockchain or distributed ledger technology for secure and transparent transactions.
To load Digital Rupee, you need to select the total token amount or different denominations, and then choose a loading method. You can either link your bank account or use a UPI app.
If you choose to link your bank account, you'll need to enter a 6-digit OTP to authenticate the transaction. This ensures that your account is secure and your transaction is legitimate.
Once you've linked your bank account, the amount will be debited directly, and Digital Rupee will be loaded into your wallet successfully.
To redeem Digital Rupee, you must select the total token amount, click on redeem, and then choose the linked bank account that needs to be credited. A 6-digit wallet PIN is required for the redemption transaction.
You can send Digital Rupee to another person using the wallet app. To do this, log in to the app, click on the 'Send' option, and select the desired payee selection option - either phone number or QR code.
When sending Digital Rupee, you can enter the amount or select the number of different denominations of token available in your wallet. You can also share the confirmation with the payee, including the transaction ID.
The conversion rate of Digital Rupee is 1:1 with the physical Rupee, with denominations available in ₹2, ₹5, ₹10, ₹20, ₹50, ₹100, ₹200, ₹500, and 1 rupee coin and 50 paise coins.
The e₹ will be held in an e₹ wallet issued by banks like Bank of Baroda.
Digital Rupee
The Digital Rupee is a legal tender issued by the Reserve Bank of India, based on blockchain technology, and offers features like trust, safety, and settlement finality in digital mode.
It represents a direct claim on the central bank, allowing users to carry out transactions or store value digitally, similar to physical currency.
The Digital Rupee is designed to enhance financial inclusion, providing greater access to formal financial services, and aims to promote efficiency in transactions through faster and more secure digital payment methods.
Here are some key features of the Digital Rupee:
- Trust: The Digital Rupee is backed by the Reserve Bank of India, ensuring its trustworthiness.
- Safety: The use of blockchain technology provides an additional layer of security for transactions.
- Settlement finality: Transactions are settled immediately, reducing the risk of disputes.
Introduction Purpose
The Digital Rupee is an exciting development in India's financial landscape. It's a legal tender issued by the Reserve Bank of India that uses blockchain technology to provide features like trust, safety, and settlement finality in digital mode.
The Digital Rupee, also known as e₹, offers a direct claim on the central bank, allowing users to carry out transactions or store value digitally. This is similar to how currency notes can be used in physical form.
The main purpose of introducing the Digital Rupee is to enhance financial inclusion, providing greater access to formal financial services. This is a significant step towards promoting financial literacy and empowering more people to participate in the economy.
Here are some key benefits of the Digital Rupee:
- Faster and more secure digital payment methods
- Aligns with India's technological advancements
- Fosters a digital-first economy
- Reduces dependence on physical currency
- Enables better regulatory control over monetary transactions
CBDC Transaction Limit
The Digital Rupee has some specific rules in place to ensure smooth transactions. The per transaction limit is set at ₹ 10,000.
To give you a better idea, here are the transaction limits in a concise table:
You can transfer up to ₹ 50,000 in a 24-hour period for outwards transfers.
Pilot Project
The Digital Rupee pilot project is an exciting development in the world of finance. Currently, 15 banks are offering CBDC wallets to users, making it easier for people to experience this new form of money.
One of the participating banks is Axis Bank, which has launched the Axis Mobile Digital Rupee app. This app allows users to experience the Digital Rupee (e₹) by the Reserve Bank of India.
The pilot project has attracted several major banks, including SBI, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Union Bank of India. These banks have developed their own CBDC wallets, such as eRupee by SBI, Digital Rupee by ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank Digital Rupee, and Digital Rupee by UBI.
Here's a list of the 15 pilot banks participating in the project:
The pilot project is a significant step towards the widespread adoption of the Digital Rupee.
CBDC Transaction Limit
The digital rupee has some key transaction limits that you should know about. The per transaction limit is ₹ 10,000.
If you're planning to hold a large amount of digital rupees in your wallet, the wallet holding limit is ₹ 1,00,000. This means you can't store more than this amount in your digital wallet.
If you need to make an outwards transfer, there's a limit of ₹ 50,000 within a 24-hour period. This is to prevent large transactions from happening too quickly.
When you redeem your digital rupees, there's a limit of ₹ 1,00,000 within a 24-hour period. This helps prevent excessive redemptions.
If you're planning to make peer-to-peer transactions, you can make up to 100 transactions within a 30-day period. This is to prevent abuse of the system.
If you've recently made a transaction, there's a cooling period where your transaction limit is reduced to ₹ 5,000 for the first 24 hours. This is to prevent excessive transactions from happening too quickly.
Digital Rupee Pilot Project
The Digital Rupee Pilot Project is a significant step towards a cashless economy in India. Currently, 15 banks are offering CBDC wallets to users.
One of these banks is Axis Bank, which offers the Digital Rupee App, allowing users to experience the future of money with the Digital Rupee (e₹) by the Reserve Bank of India.
The Digital Rupee Pilot Project has gained momentum with the involvement of several prominent banks, including SBI, ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank. Each of these banks offers its own digital rupee wallet, such as eRupee by SBI, Digital Rupee by ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank Digital Rupee.
Here's a list of the 15 pilot banks currently offering CBDC wallets to users:
Frequently Asked Questions
How to buy digital rupees?
To buy digital rupees, download the Issuer bank Digital Rupee App, register, and link your savings account with debit card authentication. Once registered, you can purchase digital rupees by agreeing to terms and authenticating with your wallet PIN.
What is the CBDC currency?
What is CBDC currency? A Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is a digital form of money issued by a central bank, existing only in digital form.
Is digital currency legal in India?
India has not banned cryptocurrencies, but they are not recognized as a legal form of payment, existing in a "grey area" of the law. Their status remains legally nuanced, awaiting further clarification.
What is e-rupee by SBI?
The e-rupee is a digital form of currency issued by the central bank, stored in a digital wallet linked to your SBI Bank account. It's a secure and convenient way to manage your finances digitally.
How is the e-rupee different from the UPI?
The Digital Rupee is a digital currency equivalent to physical currency, whereas UPI is a payment system for transferring funds between bank accounts. The key difference lies in their purpose and functionality, with the Digital Rupee serving as a digital representation of cash and UPI facilitating instant transactions.
Sources
- https://www.bankofbaroda.in/personal-banking/digital-products/bobworld-digital-rupee
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_rupee
- https://www.axisbank.com/digital-rupee-cbdc
- https://www.bankofbaroda.in/banking-mantra/digital/articles/what-is-digital-rupee
- https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-what-is-the-digital-rupee-announced-by-sitharaman-in-budget-7751109/
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