Google Pay, PhonePe, and Amazon Pay are among five payment firms looking to join the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) digital currency pilot by offering transactions via the e-rupee. Alongside these major players, Indian fintech companies Cred and Mobikwik have also applied to participate in the pilot, according to a report by Reuters citing sources.
The RBI launched the e-rupee pilot, a digital alternative to physical currency, in December 2022. Despite an initial surge in usage, e-rupee transactions have seen a decline, mirroring the global challenge central banks face in popularizing digital currencies, the report informed.
Google Pay and Amazon Pay, which facilitate retail payments through India’s widely used Unified Payments Interface (UPI), are poised to integrate e-rupee transactions into their platforms. Initially, the RBI allowed only banks to offer e-rupee via their mobile apps. However, in April, the central bank extended this permission to payment firms, pending RBI approval.
These payment firms are working with the RBI and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and are expected to roll out e-rupee access within the next three to four months, the sources revealed.
e-rupee transactions peaked at over 1 million per day late last year; they have since dropped to about 100,000-200,000 per day, according to one source. By allowing popular payment firms to offer e-rupee, the user base is expected to expand, potentially boosting transaction volumes, noted a second source.
Although the central bank continues to promote the e-rupee, it has no immediate plans for a full-scale launch, with the pilot likely to continue for the next couple of years. “The e-rupee is likely to stay in the pilot stage for the next couple of years,” the source added, as per the report.
