1 November 2026 • 5 min read
The Reserve Bank of India calls the digital rupee, written e₹, "India's Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)." RBI's FAQ describes it as "the digital form of India's physical currency, the Rupee (₹)." The same page says e₹ "is legal tender and is the liability of Reserve Bank of India."
That last point matters for builders: an e₹ balance is a claim on the central bank, not on the wallet provider.
RBI also draws the line with UPI: "e₹ is a digital form of ₹ whereas UPI is a means of payment." UPI moves money between bank accounts. e₹ is the money itself, held in a wallet.
RBI runs two pilots. The retail one, for individuals and merchants, has been live since December 2022. The wholesale one, e₹-W, "is designed for use by financial institutions and intermediaries" and "focuses on improving the financial system's infrastructure and reducing settlement risks."
As of the FAQ's update on 1 October 2026, "Usage of e₹ is currently being piloted in the country in the Retail (public)" and wholesale segments. It is not a general launch. Plan around that: any feature built on e₹ today works only for users and merchants of the pilot participants.
From RBI's FAQ:
| Question | RBI's answer |
|---|---|
| How do I get e₹? | "e₹ can be withdrawn from one's bank account and kept separately in the e₹ wallet." |
| Can I move it back? | It can be loaded or redeemed to and from a bank account 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. |
| How does a person-to-person payment settle? | Between two wallets, "settled instantaneously without passing through user's bank accounts." |
| How does a merchant take it? | "Payments to merchants can be made by scanning either the CBDC QR code or the UPI QR code." |
| What does it cost? | "There are no charges or fees associated with using e₹ or e₹ wallets." |
| Does it earn interest? | "There is no interest payable on the wallet balances." |
For onboarding, the FAQ says the link with a bank account "facilitates frictionless user onboarding and obviates the need for separate KYC requirement." Note the scope: that is about the wallet linked to an existing bank account at a pilot participant.
Offline. "The offline feature of e₹ enables the user to transact in locations with limited or no internet connectivity." The FAQ adds that different solutions are being explored.
Programmability. The sponsor of the money, such as a government body or a company, can attach conditions. RBI says e₹ "can be programmed on different parameters like expiry date, geo-location, merchant category codes, merchant VPA, etc." The FAQ names benefit transfers as one use: eligible beneficiaries of a Direct Benefit Transfer scheme.
For a product team, programmability is the interesting one. It means a payer can issue money that only works at a certain kind of merchant, in a certain place, before a certain date. That could suit benefit schemes, employee allowances and earmarked grants. Whether a private company can issue programmed e₹ today is not answered on the FAQ page, so ask a pilot participant.
RBI says that "Currently, 19 banks are offering CBDC wallets" and that wallets "are being currently provided by banks and non-banks, which are part of the retail CBDC pilot." Users and merchants of "identified pilot banks and non-banks" can use e₹. The FAQ page lists participants with app links, so check it for the current list before you pitch anyone.
The page does not say how a new non-bank joins the pilot. I could not find that in the documents I read, so the route is to ask RBI or an existing participant.
RBI's Payment System Report (half-year to December 2025) compares CBDCs with stablecoins: "CBDCs offer similar level of efficiency without the risks that stablecoins are associated with." It also lists the "absence of tokenized forms of money like CBDC or tokenized deposits" as one reason payment rails have not yet integrated with distributed-ledger technology.
The crypto rules do not cover e₹. FIU-IND's guidelines for virtual digital asset providers say CBDCs "are outside the scope of this guidance since they are digital representation of fiat currencies." So an e₹ wallet is a payments product, not a crypto product, for money-laundering purposes. Our page on crypto and FIU-IND KYC covers the other side.
This page summarises RBI and FIU-IND documents. Check with a payments lawyer before you build or market an e₹ product.
No. RBI says e₹ is a digital form of the rupee, while UPI is a means of payment. A merchant can accept e₹ by scanning either the CBDC QR code or the UPI QR code.
Yes. RBI's FAQ says e₹, being a digital form of the rupee bank note, is legal tender and is the liability of RBI.
Neither, per RBI's FAQ. There is no interest on wallet balances and no charges for using e₹ or e₹ wallets.
Only through the pilot. RBI says users and merchants of identified pilot banks and non-banks can use it, and 19 banks currently offer CBDC wallets.
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