News: The Reserve Bank of India, currently running a pilot for country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), is looking to collaborate with the US and the European Union before deciding on a full-scale roll out of the digital rupee in the coming years.
1. Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC): It is a legal tender issued by the RBI in digital form. It is same as a fiat currency and is exchangeable one-to-one with fiat currency.
2. Transactions with CBDC can be done through a digital wallet offered by the participating banks.
3. Transactions can be person to person or person to merchant, by using QR codes.
4. RBI has demarcated digital rupee into two categories namely, retail and wholesale categories.
5. CBDC has several potential benefits like reduced dependency on cash, faster transactions, enhanced financial inclusion, increased security and transparency.
