Key Highlights
- The e-Rupee in circulation has exceeded ₹1,016 crore, marking a significant increase from ₹234 crore in the previous year.
- The RBI is actively exploring pilot projects for CBDCs focused on cross-border payments, both on bilateral and multilateral fronts.
The value of central bank digital currency (CBDC) or e-rupees in circulation increased to Rs 1,016 crore at the end of March 2025, up from Rs 234 crore the previous year, the Reserve Bank said Thursday.
The RBI is looking into starting CBDC pilots on cross-border payments, according to the annual report, but no timeline is provided.
The CBDC was first introduced in November 2022 as a wholesale pilot, followed by a retail one. Simplifying cross-border payments was one of the CBDC's stated benefits, which had to be implemented in response to the currency system's challenge from non-fiat virtual currencies such as Bitcoin.
In order to address important issues like turnaround time, efficiency, and transparency, the Reserve Bank is looking into the introduction of CBDC pilots on cross-border payments on a bilateral and multilateral basis.
Finalizing the roadmap, technical aspects, and use cases has advanced, and bilateral cross-border CBDC pilots with specific nations are "actively explored," the report states.
The report states that the Reserve Bank is also thinking about taking part in multilateral CBDC projects, especially through the Innovation Hub of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).
In order to increase transparency, customer convenience, and efficiency, the central bank also intends to enhance the technological aspects of the account aggregator framework and expand the reach and coverage of ongoing pilots in e-rupee-Retail and e-rupee-Wholesale by introducing new use cases and features, the announcement said.
The majority of the Rs 857 crore e-rupee in circulation, according to the annual report, is in the Rs 500 denomination. The Rs 200 (Rs 91 crore) and Rs 100 (Rs 38 crore) denominations are also widely used.
According to the annual report, the Reserve Bank extended the central bank digital currency (CBDC)-Retail (e-rupee-R) pilot to include offline and programmability features in FY25, starting with the initial use cases of person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M). As of the end of March 2025, the e-rupee retail pilot had expanded to 17 banks and 60 lakh users.
To increase adoption and distribution, certain non-banks have been permitted to offer CBDC wallets. Furthermore, the scope of e-rupee-Wholesale was expanded and diversified with the addition of four standalone primary dealers (SPDs), the company stated.
Also Read: PayPal Gets RBI Approval to Operate as a Cross-Border Payment Aggregator
Direct benefit transfers to farmers in exchange for carbon credits, as well as loans to tenant farmers via kisan credit card (KCC) in select locations, are examples of programmability use cases, according to the report. Banks are also implementing employee allowances for fuel/meal purposes.
Odisha has made e-rupee payments to 88,000 beneficiaries under the Subhadra Yojana, according to the annual report, and discussions are underway with multiple central government ministries and state governments about leveraging CBDC's programmability feature to transfer funds to beneficiaries with a specific end use.
