RBI said to allow e-rupee wallets within banking apps to boost adoption
Mumbai, Nov. 14 -- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed banks to integrate digital rupee wallets into their main mobile banking apps, a move aimed at making the central bank's digital currency easier to access and encouraging wider use, according to two people aware of the development.Until now, banks have offered separate apps for digital rupee wallets. Integrating them into existing banking apps would remove the need for customers to download another application to transact in the central bank digital currency (CBDC), potentially encouraging greater adoption."We are planning to integrate this within our app," said one of the bankers cited above. "The main app has a lot of visibility and therefore it would automatically translate into more usage of CBDC."A CBDC, known in India as the digital rupee (e Rs.), is a digital form of legal tender issued directly by the RBI. It carries the same value as physical currency. Currently, 19 banks offer digital currency wallets. These include Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, State Bank of India, Union Bank and Bank of Baroda, according to RBI data."This is definitely beneficial for banks as they do not have to maintain two separate apps. For consumers, it will only make sense if there is more value than using UPI," said Mihir Gandhi, partner and leader, fintech and payments transformation, PwC India.The RBI launched its retail CBDC pilot in December 2022, initially restricting it to a closed group of participating customers and merchants. In August, RBI deputy governor Rohit Jain told reporters that, since the currency was being used for actual transactions, it could no longer be described as a pilot.Despite the central bank's expectations for CBDC, transaction volumes remain muted. Retail CBDC in circulation stood at Rs.771.66 crore in FY26, down from Rs.1,016.5 crore in the previous financial year, according to RBI data. In contrast, the value of total banknotes issued-including CBDC-increased from Rs.36.9 trillion to Rs.41.2 trillion over the same period.An email sent to the RBI seeking comment remained unanswered.Bankers said the wallets had initially been kept separate because the CBDC was still being tested, and the central bank had not been keen on allowing banks to integrate them into their main apps. With some traction now emerging, the RBI has approved the integration, they said."UPI has independent apps (third party) and it is also included in the banking apps. CBDC will also be like this," said the second banker cited above. "It's a very simple utility. You fund the CBDC wallet account from the savings bank account."The move follows the RBI's decision in 2023 to allow customers to use CBDC wallets to make payments through UPI QR codes. Mint reported in September that while this interoperability gives CBDC access to a large existing merchant-facing infrastructure, the backend processing of such payments by banks and the RBI remains different and requires further work before it can be rolled out at scale.Experts cautioned that integrating CBDC wallets into banking apps would not necessarily translate into a significant increase in users.Gandhi of PwC said that although UPI is available on bank apps, most consumers prefer third-party payment applications. "There are so many features packed into a single bank app that customers find it hard to discover, while third-party apps are more focussed," he said.The RBI has also allowed third-party apps to offer CBDC wallets, but only a handful have adopted the facility so far. Two non-bank platforms, CRED and MobiKwik, launched e-rupee wallets in 2025.Parijat Garg, an independent fintech expert, said universal QR code acceptance was among the most significant developments for CBDC so far, as it allows customers to use existing UPI QR codes to make payments through their digital rupee wallets."Furthermore, if it is now available within the main bank app, of course discovery becomes easy for the consumer and the consumer is most likely to try," Garg said.He said consumers had adopted UPI Lite partly because it was integrated into the wider UPI ecosystem and enjoyed better acceptance. "Consumers would now have another option to pay when eRupee wallets get integrated," he said.UPI Lite is a wallet within UPI apps that allows customers to make transactions of up to Rs.1,000 without entering their PIN. Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from MINT. For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at [email protected]