Reliance Retail has become the first Indian retailer to adopt the country's new digital currency called Digital Rupee – Retail [e₹-R].
- The company launched on Thursday last its in-store acceptance of retail payments via Digital Rupee – Retail in collaboration with ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Innoviti Technologies.
- India's central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), announced the launch of the e₹-R pilot on 1 December 2022.
The e₹-R is issued in the same denominations as that of paper currency and coins currently in use.
The Digital Currency: According to the concept note issued by the RBI, the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is interchangeable one-to-one at par with the fiat currency and is the same as a sovereign currency.
- There are two categories of CBDC: general purpose or retail (CBDC-R) and wholesale.
- According to the RBI report of 7 October 2022, CBDC can be classified into two broad types viz. general purpose or retail (CBDC-R) and wholesale (CBDC-W).
- Retail CBDC would be potentially available for use by all — private sector, non-financial consumers and businesses while wholesale CBDC is designed for restricted access to select financial institutions.
- Initially limited to four cities — Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar, the e₹-R was subsequently extended to nine other cities.
- Eight banks, including ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank, have been identified for phase-wise participation in this pilot. Customers of these banks will be able to transact with e₹ through a digital wallet offered by them.
- The scope of the pilot will be expanded gradually to include more banks, users and locations.
How It Works: Customers, using their choice of the Digital Rupee app powered by ICICI Bank or Kotak Mahindra Bank, will need to scan the QR code on the terminal and enter their password to authorise payment through e₹-R.
- Cashiers and consumers will get an instant confirmation of the e₹ transfer from the consumer to Reliance Retail. The technology enables automatic reconciliation.
- Innoviti Technologies, as a technology partner of Reliance Retail, architected this solution.
What They Said:
This historic initiative of pioneering the digital currency acceptance at our stores is in line with the company's strategic vision of offering the power of choice to Indian consumers. With more Indians willing to transact digitally, this initiative will help us provide yet another efficient and secure alternative payment method to customers at our stores.
— V Subramaniam
Director
Reliance Retail Limited
The e₹ is a game-changer in the digital revolution unleashed in the country. All customers having e₹-R wallets will now be able to enjoy an effortless, safe and instant way of digital transactions at Reliance Retail stores.
— Deepak Sharma
President & Chief Digital Officer
Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited
The Digital Rupee, which is a tokenised digital version of the Indian Rupee, is a resilient, safe and additional avenue to users for making payments. Increased acceptance of Digital Rupee would hasten its adoption among customers. This would present a seamless payment option to the users and improve the operational efficiency of Reliance Retail.
— Bijith Bhaskar
Head - Digital Channels & Partnerships
ICICI Bank
Digital Rupee fulfils the need of consumers who still prefer the trust, safety and settlement finality of physical currency. Innoviti is excited to be the first to offer a robust technology platform on which individuals can now transact using Digital Rupee with the same level of trust and ease as cash.
— Rajeev Agrawal
Founder & CEO
Innoviti Technologies Private Limited
