India to Start Pilot for Retail Digital Rupee on December 1st

The Reserve Bank of India announced it will start the first pilot for retail digital Rupee on December 1st.

The pilot will initially cover four cities, which are Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar, and will later extend to nine other cities. Four banks, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and IDFC First Bank, will participate in the first phase of the pilot.

The pilot will be conducted in a closed user group of participating customers and merchants. The digital Rupee will be issued in the same denominations currently used for notes and coins. Payments to merchants will be made using QR codes and, like cash, the digital Rupee will not earn any interest.