How to Buy and Use RBI Digital Rupee in India?

On 1 December 2022, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched a digital rupee (e₹) in 4 Indian cities. Residents can now use digital wallets provided by the partnering bank to exchange digital rupees. Moreover, you can keep this wallet on mobile or other devices for online transactions. 

This article covers more about RBI digital rupee, its features, benefits, usage and process to buy RBI digital rupee.

What is RBI Digital Rupee?

Digital rupee, also known as digital currency, is virtual money. It is India’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). It serves the same purpose as physical money. The value of digital rupee and physical money are the same, i.e. 1 digital rupee = Rs. 1 cash. 

The RBI issues digital rupee while the banks manage the distribution of the CBDC. RBI's digital rupee offers features similar to physical cash, such as guarantee of RBI, finality of settlement, convenience of use, etc. It can be stored in digital wallet and used to receive or send money and make payment for transactions.

How to Buy RBI digital rupee?

RBI, or the Central Bank of India, has selected 15 banks to take part in the phase-wise e-rupee pilot programme. These 15 banks are as follows: 

• State Bank of India 
• ICICI Bank
• Yes Bank 
• IDFC First Bank
• Union Bank of India 
• HDFC Bank 
• Bank of Baroda 
• Kotak Mahindra Bank
• Canara Bank
• Axis Bank
• IndusInd Bank
• PNB
• Federal Bank
• Karnataka Bank
• Indian Bank

These 15 participating banks have launched their digital rupee app to make transactions more accessible. The process to buy digital rupee is as follows:

• You need to download the participating bank’s official digital rupee app. Currently, only the 15 banks mentioned above are issuing digital rupee to users.
• Next, you need to register on the app to use the e-rupee wallet. 
• Accept the terms and conditions on the app.
• Complete the registration by providing the required details.
• Set up the PIN to access and use the digital rupee wallet.
• After the registration is done, load money into the digital rupee wallet. 
• You can load money into the digital rupee wallet from the account linked to the bank or from various UPI apps.
• Once you load money into the wallet, you can start transacting in e-rupee. 

You should note that the e-rupee is a digital version of your cash or paper money and not a cryptocurrency. So, you can make transactions using mobile number or QR codes displayed at shops or malls to pay with an e-rupee.

How to Use the Digital Rupee in India?

Take a look at the following points before you proceed with buying or making transactions with the digital rupee (e₹-R) pilot:

• The RBI issues the retail digital rupee as an electronic token. 
• A closed user group (CUG) consists of participating merchants and customers. The e-pilot cover selected locations in CUG.
• The e-rupee will be issued in the same denominations, followed by paper currency or coins. It is a digital token of the prevailing money that will be distributed through banks as an intermediary.
• Your bank will offer a digital wallet that you can use on your smartphones or laptops for online transactions of e-rupee.
• You can opt for both person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions using QR codes displayed at malls or shops.
• Though digital, the digital rupee (e₹) comes with all features of physical cash like safety, settlement finality, trust, etc.
• You can convert the digital rupee into other forms of money like bank deposits, but it will not earn any interest.
• The e-rupee pilot will conduct a real-time assessment of the retail use of digital rupees, distribution, and the stability of complete creation. Furthermore, according to this assessment, the RBI will evaluate different uses and aspects of the digital token.

Features of the Digital Rupee

Here are the features of digital rupee:

• Digital rupee can be used as a payment option for paying merchants and individuals.
• Digital rupee allows to send or receive money from anyone, using mobile number or QR code.
• Instant payments can be made to buy goods or avail services by just scanning the digital rupee QR code of the merchants.
• Digital rupee can be sent instantly to friends and family when they have a digital rupee wallet.​​​​
• It provides access to money for those who are unable to use the traditional banking services.
• It eliminates intermediaries, resulting in lower transaction costs than traditional banking systems.
• It enable faster processing of transactions, irrespective of geographical locations.
• It ensures transaction transparency while maintaining security.
• Since digital rupee is centrally regulated, the RBI can control its circulation, supply and monetary policies.

Benefits of the Digital Rupee

One of the notable benefits of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is that government bodies and other companies accept digital rupees as legal tender, means of payment, safe deposits, etc. 

Let’s take a look at the other benefits of e₹:

• The CBDC is a sovereign currency issued by the RBI in accordance with their monetary policy.
• You can easily convert digital money into cash or commercial bank money.
• It cannot be destroyed by tearing apart, burning, or other physical damage.
• Any other digital form of money cannot replace e-rupees.
• Digital money is equal to paper currency. Hence, it will last as long as your paper money last.
• The digital rupee is governed by the central authority. Thus, it provides security to its user.

Types of RBI Digital Rupee to be Launched in India

As per the Central Bank of India, two types of digital rupee will be launched in India, namely retail or general purpose (CBDC-R) and wholesale (CBDC-W). Non-financial consumers, private sectors, businessmen, etc., can use CBDC-R, while the use of CBDC-W is restricted to selected financial institutions and and intermediaries, such as interbank transfers. 

Thus, RBI launched the digital rupee in India to offer a safe and hazardless digital experience during monetary transactions. Besides, it does not come with a risk of volatility. It is just a digital form of your own physical money.

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