MC EXCLUSIVE Digital rupee expansion: RBI eyes major boost in offline CBDC-R use

The value of CBDC-R in circulation jumped to Rs 1,016 crore at the end of March 2025 from Rs 234 crore in the year-ago period.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is in talks with several banks to expand the offline-use feature of the central bank digital currency-retail (CBDC-R), which allows retail users to transact through the virtual currency without internet access, a senior official told Moneycontrol.

At present, 17 banks allow the offline transaction feature of CBDC-R but in the coming months, over 30 banks may be offering the same, the official said. "More than two and a half years have passed since CBDC-R was rolled out on a pilot basis, the systems to support the transactions have improved… More banks can now offer this service (offline use)," the person added.

In its 2024-25 annual report, the RBI said at the end of March 2025, the pilot in the CBDC-R segment was expanded to 17 banks and 60 lakh users since its inception in December 2022. The value of CBDC-R in circulation jumped to Rs 1,016 crore at the end of March 2025 from Rs 234 crore in the year-ago period.

"The RBI is aiming to enhance the adoption rate of CBDC, especially since it’s backed by the physical rupee, and is capable of being tracked," said the person quoted above. "The global cryptocurrency landscape is uncertain right now… Tracking it remains a challenge."

The RBI since 2022 has rolled out multiple pilots exploring offline and programmability features of CBDC-R. The programmability use-cases include direct benefit transfers to farmers against generation of carbon credits and loans to tenant farmers under kisan credit card (KCC) in select locations.

Employee allowances for fuel/meal purposes are being implemented by banks. And under the Subhadra Yojana of the Odisha government, e-rupee has been used as a payment channel for around 88,000 beneficiaries so far, said the report.

"Discussions are underway with multiple central government ministries and state governments for leveraging the programmability feature of CBDC to transfer funds to beneficiaries with a defined end use," the report added.

Bilateral cross-border CBDC pilots with select countries are being actively explored and progress has been made in the finalisation of a roadmap, technical aspects and use cases, the RBI said.

Vivek Iyer, partner, Grant Thornton Bharat, said, "CBDC-R roll out is a pilot rollout by the RBI with an intent to understand the pros and cons of the digital rupee implementation, which will create a feedback loop for strengthening a larger implementation across all the banks."