One of the largest merchants in India has announced that it would enable consumers to make payments using digital versions of the Indian rupee called digital rupee.
During the period in which it is being tested, the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) will be accepted by a number of merchants, one of which will be the nation’s biggest retail chain, Reliance Retail.
The company that Mukesh Ambani manages has announced that it has teamed with ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and the financial technology company Innoviti Technologies to deliver in-store support for the digital rupee.
According to what the retail giant said on today, customers who prefer to pay using the country’s CBDC, which is termed e-R, would be supplied with a dynamic digital rupee acceptance QR code that can be scanned at the shop.
An announcement was made by Reliance Retail, which is a division of the Indian conglomerate Reliance, stating that it has implemented support for CBDC at its gourmet shop line Freshpik and would gradually roll out the capability across all of its sites. Because of this decision, Reliance has become the most prominent Indian company to embrace the digital rupee.
This historic initiative of pioneering the digital currency acceptance at our stores is in line with the company’s strategic vision of offering the power of choice to Indian consumers. With more Indians willing to transact digitally, this initiative will help us provide yet another efficient and secure alternative payment method to customers at our stores.
V Subramaniam, director, Reliance Retail
Why India created the digital rupee
The Reserve Bank of India expects that by implementing e-R, it would be possible to reduce the economy’s dependency on cash, enabling cheaper and more streamlined foreign settlements, and shield individuals from the volatility of private cryptocurrencies.
The central bank aims to experiment with new features and uses of the digital rupee, based on the test findings of the ongoing pilot program that is now underway.
Over the course of the last few years, India’s central bank has focused a significant portion of its efforts on discouraging individuals from engaging in cryptocurrency trading.
In spite of a judgement from the highest court in the nation, the central bank in India continues to exert pressure on banks to prevent them from associating with cryptocurrency platforms. This action has made on-ramp a living hell for the companies that are engaged.
India and crypto
The most recent modifications to India’s 2023 budget have not softened the country’s stance on cryptocurrencies, which includes a crypto law now in cold storage and high taxes that carry the risk of imprisonment if they are not paid.
The aspirations of millions of Indian crypto investors were dashed when neither blockchain technology nor cryptocurrencies were included in the country’s union budget for 2023.
A significant number of people in the cryptocurrency community in India held out hope that the high cryptocurrency tax that was established in March 2022 would be lowered in some way.
No changes to crypto taxation in India in the Budget Session. It stands at 1% TDS and 30% on profits. This puts India at a web3 disadvantage for another year.
Neeraj Khandelwal, co-founder of Indian crypto exchange Coindcx
