Meet the Rupee’s new digital avatar. Issued by The Reserve Bank of India, the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) or Digital Rupee (or e₹) is a digital variant of physical currency.
As a customer of HDFC Bank, embrace the future of digital transactions: send or receive money or pay for transactions through e₹
The RBI will create tokens, and issue them to financial entities called Token Service Providers (TSPs), which are the banks selected for the Digital Rupee Pilot Program. The TSP will then distribute the tokens to interested parties/customers. The digital Rupee tokens will work in the same way as bank notes/coins, and you can use them in lieu of cash.
You may store digital Rupees in your bank’s digital wallet CBDC-R app. The digital wallet works in the same way as your cash wallet, except these transactions will be entirely paperless.
Simply scan the e₹ QR code at listed merchants and make instant payments.
You can send e₹ to your friends and family, provided they have a e₹ Wallet.
You can also receive instant e₹ payments from others.
Send or receive money to/from anyone, using their Mobile No. or QR Code.
You can use Digital Rupee to pay merchants using it as a payment option.
Digital Rupee is the digital form of physical cash. All denominations available.
As part of the pilot programme, select HDFC Bank customers have the chance to become a part of India’s e₹ initiative.
Cash vs e₹
e₹ is closest in comparison to cash. When you pay cash, the physical note/coin goes from your wallet to someone else’s. Similarly, a user transfers e₹ from their e₹ Wallet to someone else’s.
UPI vs e₹
Unlike e₹, which is a currency, UPI is only a payment system which allows transfer of money from one bank account to another through an intermediary.
Bitcoin vs e₹
A cryptocurrency is a decentralized asset where transactions between parties are settled by a pool of users. In e₹, the central bank takes responsibility for ensuring the transactions are settled.
Besides, e₹ will enjoy the same stability in value as the rupee while cryptocurrencies can be very volatile.
e₹ as a legal tender issued by a central bank in a digital form. The conversion rate is 1 e₹ = 1 Rupee. e₹ shall be accepted as a medium of payment, legal tender and a safe store of value.
e₹ will work in the same way as bank notes and coins – if you possess them, you can use them in lieu of cash. You may store e₹ in your bank’s e₹ app. The digital wallet works in the same way as your cash wallet, except these transactions will be entirely paperless.
You can either conduct e₹ transactions anonymously, simply by obtaining the sender/receiver’s phone number or QR code, or you can opt for account-based e₹ transactions.
UPI/NEFT/RTGS/IMPS are all forms of digital payments. e₹ is a digital form of currency and is a legal tender provided by RBI that is similar to physical cash, but in a digital form.
e₹ is an RBI digital currency. It is like cash in a digital form which has a value as per the denomination of the currency. On the other hand, cryptocurrencies like bitcoins are public currencies (not backed by RBI).