Digital Rupee was first introduced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on December 01, 2022, for retail markets across select Indian Cities in pilot mode. The digital rupee was extended to cities gradually, and select banks have been identified for phase-wise participation in this pilot. With the digital rupee (or e-rupee), customers will benefit from its key features like convenience and security. Innoviti Technologies, in collaboration with Reliance Retail, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank, announced the launch of in-store acceptance of retail payments via Digital Rupee – Retail.
Reliance Retail has become the first enterprise retailer to adopt India's digital currency acceptance, continuing its effort to create a convenient and seamless payment experience for customers. The company was previously the first to introduce dynamic QR-based in-store UPI payments. After billing, if a consumer chooses to pay through digital rupee, a dynamic Digital Rupee acceptance QR code is presented to the consumer for scanning.
Also Read: Jio 2.5 GB per Day Data Plans: What You Should You Know
V. Subramaniam, Director, Reliance Retail Limited, said "This historic initiative of pioneering the digital currency acceptance at our stores is in line with the company's strategic vision of offering the power of choice to Indian consumers. With more Indians willing to transact digitally, this initiative will help us provide yet another efficient and secure alternative payment method to customers at our stores."
Deepak Sharma, President & Chief Digital Officer, Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited, commented, "eRs is a game-changer in the digital revolution unleashed in the country. All customers having eRs - R wallets will now be able to enjoy an effortless, safe and instant way of digital transactions at Reliance Retail stores. Kotak is proud to be associated as a banking partner with Reliance Retail and Innoviti to take part in a digital revolution."
Bijith Bhaskar, Head - Digital Channels & Partnerships, ICICI Bank, said "The introduction of CBDC or Digital Rupee is a historic milestone in the digital journey of India. India is among the select few countries globally to have its own digital currency. The Digital Rupee, which is a tokenised digital version of the Indian Rupee, is a resilient, safe and additional avenue to users for making payments. Increased acceptance of Digital Rupee would hasten its adoption among customers. We are delighted to partner with Reliance Retail and Innoviti Technologies to make Digital Rupee an accepted payment mode at Reliance Retail stores. This would present a seamless payment option to the users and improve the operational efficiency of Reliance Retail."
Rajeev Agrawal, Founder & CEO, Innoviti Technologies Private Limited, said, "The history of money has had a riveting journey, evolving through barter, to coins, to notes and now is in its new digital avatar. India's revolution in digital payment led to exponential increase in e-transactions yet, payment via cash continues to remain popular. Digital Rupee fulfils the need of consumers who still prefer the trust, safety and settlement finality of physical currency. Innoviti is excited to be the first to offer a robust technology platform on which individuals can now transact using Digital Rupee with the same level of trust and ease as cash. Collaborating with Reliance Retail gives us the edge to create best-in-class solutions for the industry. Through strategic support of Kotak Mahindra Bank and ICICI bank as our banking partners, we have been able create payment acceptance of India's Digital Rupee a reality today.
Also Read: Jio Losing Active Users in Nov a Hint that 5G Rollout is Not Impactful in Short-Term
To pay through digital rupee, customers can use either the ICICI Bank-powered Digital Rupee app or the Kotak Mahindra Bank app. They just need to scan the QR code on the terminal and enter their passcode to authorize the payment. Cashiers and consumers receive instant confirmation of the e-rupee (digital rupee) transfer from the consumer to Reliance Retail. The technology also enables automatic reconciliation.
