The State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender, and IDFC First Bank on September 4 announced the implementation of unified payments interface (UPI) interoperability in their digital rupee (e₹) or the central bank digital currency (CBDC).
The banks, in different press release, said that it aims to deliver convenience and accessibility to its customers.
“This feature, accessible through the 'eRupee by SBI' application, will empower SBI CBDC users to scan any merchant UPI QR code for transactions,” SBI said in the release.
In alignment with the RBI's Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) initiative, IDFC FIRST Bank has unveiled a new enhancement: the integration of UPI QR Codes with its CBDC app, the IDFC FIRST Bank Digital Rupee, IDFC said in a press release.
CBDC pilot
The central bank launched the first pilot of the digital rupee on October 31, 2022, in the wholesale segment and identified nine banks as participants.
The nine lenders include the State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of Baroda (BoB), Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Yes Bank, IDFC First Bank and HSBC.
A month later, RBI kick-started the pilot for the retail segment as well. The retail digital rupee, or e₹-R, can be used for day-to-day transactions.
Eight banks are participating in the retail pilot project. They are SBI, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank, IDFC First Bank, BoB, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank.
Under the pilot project, banks can invite select customers and merchants to try the services through their mobile applications. After this, the users can make peer-to-peer transactions and peer-to-merchant transactions.
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