Top Payment Companies Eye RBI's E-Rupee Pilot, Including Googlepay And Amazonpay

New Delhi, Aug 5 (KNN) Five prominent payment companies, including GooglePay, Walmart-backed PhonePe, and AmazonPay, have applied to participate in the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) digital currency pilot program, according to sources close to the matter.

The initiative aims to facilitate transactions using the e-rupee, India's digital alternative to physical currency, reported ET.

The RBI launched the e-rupee pilot in December 2022, initially limiting participation to banks. However, in April, the central bank expanded eligibility to include payment firms, subject to RBI approval.

Indian fintech companies Cred and Mobikwik have also submitted applications to join the pilot.

These payment firms are collaborating closely with the RBI and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the country's domestic payments authority.

Sources indicate that access to e-rupee transactions through these platforms could be rolled out within the next three to four months.

The move comes as the e-rupee faces challenges in gaining widespread adoption, mirroring difficulties encountered by central banks worldwide in popularizing digital currencies.

After an initial surge, e-rupee transactions have reportedly declined from over 1 million per day late last year to approximately 100,000-200,000 daily transactions.

Industry experts suggest that integrating popular payment platforms could significantly boost e-rupee usage by expanding its user base.

The five companies seeking to join the pilot collectively account for over 85 per cent of digital payments via India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which processes an average of 13 billion transactions monthly.

Despite efforts to increase e-rupee adoption, sources indicate that the RBI does not have immediate plans for a full-scale launch of the digital currency.

The e-rupee is expected to remain in the pilot stage for at least the next couple of years as the central bank continues to refine and evaluate its implementation.

The RBI and NPCI have not provided official comments on these developments, and the companies involved have declined to respond to inquiries.

This expansion of the e-rupee pilot program represents a significant step in India's exploration of central bank digital currencies, as the country seeks to balance innovation in financial technology with regulatory oversight and monetary policy objectives.

(KNN Bureau)