RBI said to allow e-rupee wallets within banking apps to boost 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 ₹), 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 ₹771.66 crore in FY26, down from ₹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 ₹36.9 trillion to ₹41.2 trillion over the same period.

Traction emerging

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.

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 ₹1,000 without entering their PIN.

Shayan Ghosh

Shayan leads the coverage for banking and finance in Mint. Based in Mumbai, he has spent 15 years as a journalist, joining the Mint team in 2018. Over the years, he has tracked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), commercial banks, and the complex world of shadow banking.His expertise goes beyond just reporting news, and he specializes in explaining the "why" behind India’s financial shifts. Shayan has covered major milestones in the industry, including the rollout of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), mergers in the banking and non-banking space, and the many challenges facing the country's credit markets. He has tracked cases of wrongdoings at India’s private sector banks and murky boardroom battles, trying to get behind the scenes.Shayan is driven by a commitment to accuracy and clear, honest reporting. He believes in making finance easy to understand, ensuring his readers and investors stay informed about the forces shaping their money. When not at work, he tries to hone his amateurish photography skills, read fiction, and listen to music. You can follow his work and updates on LinkedIn and Twitter/X.

Subhana Shaikh

Subhana Shaikh is a business journalist at Mint, where she covers the Reserve Bank of India, monetary policy, and India’s bond markets. She has seven years of experience in reporting on financial markets, with a focus on banking and the broader financial system.She began her career after completing her postgraduate diploma at the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media, Bengaluru. She then spent five years at Informist Media, a news wire agency, where she closely tracked bond markets and the BFSI sector, developing a strong foundation in market reporting. She later moved to NDTV Profit, where she expanded her coverage across a wide range of business and economic stories.At Mint, Subhana focuses on explaining central bank decisions, bond market movements, and banking trends for her readers. Her reporting combines on-ground inputs with careful analysis to help audiences understand complex financial developments.Based in Mumbai, she is interested in exploring stories across the business landscape. Outside of work, she enjoys reading and spending time with her three cats.