Fintech firm MobiKwik has launched a full version of India’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) – e-rupee (e₹) in partnership with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Yes Bank.
The company claims that is the first digital wallet to go live with a full-scale production version of the e-rupee (e₹) wallet, the new CBDC product is available to all its Android users.
Earlier this week, Kunal Shah-led CRED also announced the launch of the beta launch of its e₹ wallet, developed in collaboration with the Reserve Bank of India and sponsored by YES BANK
What is e₹ wallet?
The e₹ wallet allows users to send and receive funds to other e₹ wallets as well as regular bank accounts via UPI; both peer-to-peer (P2P) and peer-to-merchant (P2M) transactions are supported. For example, a user can scan and pay on any UPI QR using e₹ as it is fully interoperable on UPI.
MobiKwik’s large base of existing full KYC users will immediately be able to open an e₹ wallet and load it from their bank account. New MobiKwik users will have to complete video KYC before they can open an e₹ wallet.
Transaction limit on e-rupee (e₹)
Currently, e-rupee (e₹) wallet has a daily transaction limit of Rs 50,000, per transaction limit of Rs 10,000, and currency denominations of 50 paise, Rs 1, Rs 2, Rs 5, Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 50, Rs 100, Rs 200, and Rs 500 are available in e-rupee.
Leadership comments
Announcing the launch, Bipin Preet Singh, Co-founder and MD, MobiKwik said, “We expect that CBDC will make the Indian rupee digital and further expand the digital economy. e₹ transfers can be made to anyone with an e₹ wallet or UPI ID. Our goal is to drive the adoption of e₹ in India and move towards a less cash economy.”
Initially, RBI only permitted banks to offer access to digital currency but in April 2024 it said that it would allow non-banks to offer e-rupee (e₹) transactions. MobiKwik was invited to participate in RBI’s CBDC project and has completed the rollout in record time, the company said in a statement.