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Digital Rupee (e-Rupee / CBDC) — circulation & pilot milestones

Q: How is the e-Rupee different from UPI?

UPI moves money between bank accounts -- it is a fast messaging-and-settlement layer on top of bank deposits. The retail e-Rupee is itself money: a digital token that is a direct claim on the RBI, held in a wallet, that can be transferred peer-to-peer without routing through a bank account, and even offline. To make it convenient, RBI has made e-Rupee wallets interoperable with UPI QR codes, so a user can scan any UPI QR and pay from the e-Rupee wallet.

Q: Why does the Digital Rupee matter for banks?

Banks are the distribution channel for the retail e-Rupee -- they issue the wallets and onboard users and merchants -- and the counterparties in the wholesale e-Rupee that settles government-securities trades. Wholesale CBDC can cut settlement risk and free up collateral. A widely held retail CBDC could, over time, shift some low-cost deposits into central-bank money, which is why RBI is piloting it gradually with features like offline use and programmability rather than a full launch.

Quick answerThe Digital Rupee (e-Rupee, e₹) is the RBI’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) — sovereign, legal-tender digital cash that is a direct liability of the RBI, not a bank deposit. RBI runs two pilots: a wholesale CBDC (e₹-W, from 1 Nov 2022) for interbank G-Sec settlement and a retail CBDC (e₹-R, from 1 Dec 2022) in bank-issued wallets. e-Rupee in circulation has grown to about Rs 1,016 crore by March 2025, from ~Rs 234 crore a year earlier, and the retail pilot crossed ~1 million users in December 2023. Unlike UPI (which moves bank deposits), the e-Rupee is money itself and works even offline. Figures are approximate and revised periodically.

The chart shows approximate e-Rupee in circulation (Rs crore) at each fiscal year-end; the table below carries the same figures, so the page is readable without JavaScript — for accessibility and AI answer engines.

e-Rupee in circulation (Rs crore)

As of	e-Rupee in circulation (Rs crore)	Note
End-Mar 2023	16	Retail & wholesale pilots a few months old
End-Mar 2024	234	Retail pilot crossed ~1 million users (Dec 2023); offline & programmability features piloted
End-Mar 2025	1016	Circulation up sharply year-on-year as more banks and use-cases joined

Figures are official RBI Annual Report estimates, rounded and approximate, and are revised in later vintages. For exact latest figures see the source linked below.

Pilot & feature milestones — filter by track

When	Track	Milestone	Detail
1 Nov 2022	Wholesale (e Rs-W)	Wholesale CBDC pilot launched	Used by select banks to settle secondary-market transactions in government securities, cutting settlement risk and freeing collateral.
1 Dec 2022	Retail (e Rs-R)	Retail CBDC pilot launched	Token-based digital wallet issued through participating banks; the e-Rupee is legal tender held directly by the user, not a bank deposit.
Dec 2023	Retail (e Rs-R)	~1 million users milestone	RBI reported the retail pilot reached around one million users and several lakh merchants across pilot cities.
2024	Infrastructure	Offline functionality piloted	Offline e-Rupee transfers tested for areas with poor or no connectivity, a key advantage over account-based digital payments.
2024	Infrastructure	Programmability piloted	Programmable e-Rupee tested so funds can be earmarked for a specific purpose (e.g. farm inputs, welfare benefits) before they are spent.
2024	Infrastructure	UPI QR interoperability	Retail e-Rupee wallets made interoperable with existing UPI QR codes so users can pay any UPI merchant from the e-Rupee wallet.
FY2024-25	Retail (e Rs-R)	Wider rollout	More banks joined as issuers and circulation rose toward ~Rs 1,016 crore by end-March 2025 (approximate).

What it means for bankers

Banks are the front line of the Digital Rupee. In the retail pilot they issue the e₹-R wallets and onboard users and merchants; in the wholesale pilot they are the counterparties whose G-Sec trades settle in e₹-W, which can cut settlement risk and free up collateral. The strategic question is deposits: because retail CBDC is central-bank money rather than a bank liability, a large migration into e₹ wallets could nibble at the cheap CASA deposits that anchor banks’ cost of funds. That is exactly why the RBI is moving deliberately — capped pilots, no interest on retail e₹, and features like offline transfer, programmability and UPI-QR interoperability — rather than a full launch. Watch the circulation trend and the feature roadmap as the clearest signal of how fast India’s digital cash is scaling.

Key terms in this dataPlain-English definitions of the terms behind this dashboard — see the full Indian banking glossary. CASA · Repo rate

More live dataExplore BankPulse’s other live RBI dashboards: UPI / Digital Payments · RBI Digital Payments Index · Currency in Circulation · NEFT / RTGS / IMPS.

Digital Rupee FAQ

What is the Digital Rupee (e-Rupee / CBDC)?

The Digital Rupee, or e-Rupee (e Rs), is the central bank digital currency issued by the RBI -- a sovereign, legal-tender digital form of cash and a direct liability of the RBI, distinct from a bank deposit or a private payment app. It comes as a wholesale CBDC (e Rs-W) for interbank settlement, launched 1 November 2022, and a retail CBDC (e Rs-R) held in bank-issued wallets, launched 1 December 2022.

How much e-Rupee is in circulation?

The e-Rupee in circulation has grown to roughly Rs 1,016 crore by end-March 2025, from about Rs 234 crore a year earlier and around Rs 16 crore at end-March 2023, per RBI Annual Report figures. The figures are approximate, rounded and revised periodically; the retail pilot crossed about one million users in December 2023.

How is the e-Rupee different from UPI?

UPI moves money between bank accounts; the retail e-Rupee is itself money -- a digital token that is a direct claim on the RBI, held in a wallet, transferable peer-to-peer and even offline. To stay convenient, e-Rupee wallets have been made interoperable with existing UPI QR codes.

Why does the Digital Rupee matter for banks?

Banks issue the retail e-Rupee wallets and are the counterparties in the wholesale e-Rupee that settles G-Sec trades. Wholesale CBDC can cut settlement risk and free collateral; a widely held retail CBDC could shift some low-cost deposits into central-bank money, which is why RBI is piloting it gradually with offline and programmable features.

Methodology & sources: see how BankPulse dashboards are sourced, verified & updated · machine-readable e-Rupee JSON feed.

Last reviewed 20 Jun 2026 by Vikram Jain

Source: RBI Annual Report, RBI press releases and RBI Payment & Settlement Systems data, rbi.org.in. Figures are official estimates, rounded and approximate, revised periodically. We never reproduce source text verbatim. Reviewed by Vikram Jain. Last updated 20 Jun 2026, 03:40 IST.

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