The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched the first pilot of its retail Digital Rupee on December 1, 2022. According to RBI, this currency is available in the form of a digital token that represents legal tender. The Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) has also been issued in the same denominations that paper currency and coins. The CBDC is the digital version of fiat money that will co-exist will hard cash. Reliance Retail has recently announced that it has started accepting retail payments via the RBI’s Digital Rupee. India’s digital currency will be accepted by Reliance Retail stores across the country. The first Reliance Retail outlet to accept RBI’s Blockchain-based CBDC in-store was its gourmet food store Freshpik.
Reliance Retail starts accepting RBI’s Digital Rupee: More details
To launch in-store support for the digital rupee, Reliance Retail has partnered with ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and fintech company Innoviti Technologies.
Founder and CEO of Innoviti Technologies, Rajeev Agrawal has explained that “Digital Rupee fulfils the need of consumers who still prefer the trust, safety and settlement finality of physical currency.”

Read Reliance Retail’s take on this initiative
According to a report by IANS, Reliance Retail’s Director V. Subramaniam has 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.”
In the statement, he also added, “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.”
RBI’s Digital Rupee: Importance
The RBI started the first phase of a retail CBDC pilot with four banks in four cities in 2022. A CBDC can help users to access digital payments without the requirement of a bank account. Accessing the Digital Rupee will also be possible only via a central bank-issued digital wallet.
The use of the e-rupee is likely to make the interbank market more efficient. The CBDC may also help reduce transaction costs in the settlement of central bank money.
The pilot projects that will start in the coming days are expected to focus on other wholesale transactions and cross-border payments.
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