Banks unaware of RBI's digital rupee; here’s what we know so far

New Delhi: Ever since the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the launch of “digital rupee” for the retail consumer earlier this week, people are finding ways to own the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). 

Value of digital rupee

The RBI digital rupee will have exchange rates compared to other currencies, be accepted as payment, and serve as a safe store of value. It will also be used to create virtual currency for exchanging government securities.

Where to buy digital rupee

Currently, the digital rupee is a pilot project under which will be made available with four banks in four cities.

The second phase of the pilot project will include four more banks and cities.

In the first phase, the digital rupee will be available with State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and IDFC Bank.

Is digital rupee available?

Upon inquiring, the bank will tell you that it is currently doing a pilot activity along with RBI for Central Bank Digital Currency, a legal tender issued by a central bank in a digital form.

If you are a part of this pilot activity then you will receive an email from the bank and link to download the Digital Rupee Mobile app.

However, a NewsDrum investigation revealed that the consumer of these four banks will have to wait for sometime in order to own digital rupee.

Bank officials informed NewsDrum that they have no clue about the process to get hold of digital rupee. They have not received any notifications in this regard either.

When asked if any of their customers have been sent any communication (email) to download the Digital Rupee Mobile app, the bank officials denied.

“The launch was announced this week and we are yet to receive any communication from the management. We have not even received any document containing the frequently asked questions (FAQs) to handle the queries regarding digital rupee. I guess, we will get the information in coming weeks,” said a bank official from one of the four banks included in the pilot project.

More information on Digital Rupee Mobile app

While loading the Digital Rupee Mobile app, can customer buy tokens through different UPI apps?

Yes, different UPI apps can be used for buying the digital currency.

Can a user carry out UPI transactions with digital currency?

No, you cannot do UPI transactions through digital currency. To make digital currency transaction successful, both payee and payer must have valid digital currency credentials like digital currency VPA (Virtual Payment Address) or digital currency QR Code.