NEW DELHI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is looking to expand the use of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in the call money market, while hoping to reach one million daily transactions by the end of 2023, said a source.
The source said that the wholesale CBDC is proposed to be expanded as tokens for call money settlement. RBI had launched a pilot for wholesale Digital Rupee last November, with use currently limited to the settlement of secondary market transactions in government securities.
“The purpose of wholesale CBDC has been to try out different technologies… experimenting on technology is relatively easier for wholesale pilots because participants are related,” the source said.
RBI will showcase CBDT and other digital tools, including UPI One World, Bharat Bill Payment System and RuPay On-the-Go, to G20 delegates over the weekend as India seeks to not just internationalise the rupee but also highlight how it has developed digital public infrastructure that is helping the government reach out to citizens and deliver the benefits better.
UPI One World would enable visitors to be boarded to UPI without having a bank account in India. Similarly, RuPay On-the-Go would allow customers to carry out contactless payment transactions through accessories they wear such as smartwatches, and highlights the adaptability of the domestic card offering.
RBI’s frictionless credit system – which will enable farmers and dairy workers to get bank loans using the details of their land holdings or milk sales to cooperatives such as Amul – will also be on display, sources said. While the project is currently in the pilot phase, going forward, RBI and the banks want to use it for loans to MSMEs as well as personal loans.
