India Explores Offline Functionality Of CBDCs
The digital rupee, India’s newly launched in-house central bank digital currency (CBDC), is now being tested for offline functionality, according to Ajay Kumar Choudhary, executive director of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
On November 1, 2022, the RBI — India’s central bank and regulatory body — launched the wholesale segment pilot for the digital rupee, onboarding 50,000 users and 5,000 merchants for real-world testing. As of Feb. 25, approximately $134 million and 800,000 transactions had been completed through wholesale CBDCs.
Building on this progress, Choudhary stated that the RBI is looking into the CBDC’s offline functionality. He told CNBC TV18 that the RBI is assessing the CBDC’s potential for cross-border transactions and integration with legacy systems in other countries. He added: “We are eagerly looking forward to private sector and fintechs’ participation in CBDC. We will see their contribution, especially on offline and cross-border CBDC transactions.”
Moreover, speaking on behalf of the RBI, Choudhary said the CBDC would soon become the medium of exchange and needs all features of physical currency, including anonymity.
(With inputs from Shikha Singh)
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