The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has officially launched its very first digital token called the digital Rupee. The digital Rupee (e?-R) will be available for purchase and trade starting today via select banks in select cities.
State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and IDFC First Bank can currently issue digital Rupee in India. Similarly, four more banks Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank will soon be able to distribute digital Rupee in India.
Where to get the Digital Rupee?
The digital Rupee is different from traditional cryptocurrency, as it is supported by a central bank, in this case the Reserve Bank Of India, making it a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) which is not decentralized.
While crypto values fluctuate based on the transactional volume, the Digital Rupee will have a fixed value and is also considered legal tender in India. Hence, the digital Rupee can be used for making person-to-person (p-to-p) and person-to-merchant (p-to-m) transactions.
As of now, the availability of the Digital Rupee has also been limited to Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, and Bhubaneswar. In the coming days, the availability of the Digital Rupee will be expanded pan-India.
Users will be able to buy the digital Rupee from the official app or website from the four designated banks which are mentioned above. As of now, there is no exact information as to the apps.
How to Share and Store Digital Rupee
The Digital Rupee can be shared with friends or family just like a cryptocurrency via the supported apps from the banks that have been licensed to issue the tender. The digital Rupee can be stored on e-wallets which can be used for all sorts of transactions.
Debits, Credits and Withdrawals
The Digital Rupee can be used just like a physical rupee in most places. However, you wont be able to withdraw it in the form of physical currency. You can convert it into physical cash via in-person bank visits and online in the future.
An important thing to note is that having the Digital Rupee in your account will give you no interest as its value will remain constant.