RBI to widen e-Rupee CBDC pilot into cross-border, welfare and retail merchant rails
RBI plans to scale its e-Rupee pilot — already at 8M users and 120M transactions worth ₹28,000 crore — into bilateral cross-border corridors with UAE and Singapore, programmable DBT for PDS subsidies, and domestic retail merchant payments through FY26.
RBI will expand e-Rupee CBDC pilot into cross-border payments, welfare DBT and domestic retail merchant use, with bilateral corridors planned with UAE and Singapore. Programmable CBDC already credits PDS food subsidies in Gujarat, Puducherry, Chandigarh.
Why this matters
Follows RBI's tightening posture on PPI wallet norms and its CPI watch on fuel pass-through. CBDC expansion signals RBI's intent to own programmable retail payment rails alongside UPI.
Omni-channel theme steady at 151 signals in last 90 days, with payments rails a recurring driver.