The e-Rupee is the CBDC or central bank digital currency of India, to be launched in the near future to keep the threat of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin at bay. The retail and wholesale pilots of the CBDC are the most recent stages of the digital rupee that will help test and improve upon the design and other concerns.

The retail pilot of the e-Rupee got an unexpected participant in the form of a fruit seller stationed near the RBI in Mumbai. The fruit seller has got his first customer as can be seen in this video of Anand Mahindra using e-rupee to buy fruits:

At the Reserve Bank’s board meeting today I learned about the @RBI digital currency-the e-rupee. Right after the meeting I visited Bachche Lal Sahani, a nearby fruit vendor who is one of the first merchants to accept it. #DigitalIndia in action! (Got great pomegranates as well!) pic.twitter.com/OxFRWgI0ZJ

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) January 25, 2023

The e-Rupee will take some time to enter mainstream, as it is currently going through a testing period. There will be wallets issued by participating banks to users who can then convert their online money into e-rupee and back. It is likely that the e-rupee won’t allow conversion into cash, like at an ATM, though it can’t be ruled out if this new form of Rupee is a hit with the masses.

Currently, mobile payments or UPI transfers have overtaken cash as a preferred mode for small payments as in bazaar transactions. We can expect the integration of e-Rupee too in this system, if it turns out to hold any benefits over online money.

The tracking of payers and payments when using e-rupee has been discussed, but it is likely that small payments won’t be tracked. Payments will thus happen directly between the payer and the merchant of the vendor without any intermediary like a bank.