The RBI is aiming for 10 lakh customers for the CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) or e-rupee by the end of June, said Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar. ”By end of June we aim to have 1 million (10 lakh) customers. We’re also planning to make its (CBDC’s) QR-code interoperable with UPI,” he said in the post-policy conference on Thursday.

On when CBDC would be launched for the public at large, Sankar said the central bank does not have a specific date in mind, and the launch will be gradual and calibrated.

“We will continue to assess the impact on an ongoing basis and learn as we go,” he said.

In its annual report for 2022-23, RBI had said that it plans to expand the CBDC pilot to more locations and banks in FY24.

RBI had launched CBDC in November 2022, with the first pilot for digital rupee in the wholesale segment or CBDC (W). The pilot has been initiated with nine banks--State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, YES Bank, IDFC First Bank and HSBC.

The retail pilot or CBDC (R) was launched in December 2022 across Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, and Bhubaneswar with SBI, ICICI Bank, YES Bank and IDFC First Bank. Later, the pilot was extended to Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Gangtok, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Kochi, Lucknow, Patna, and Shimla with more banks being brought on board.

Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank were added, and five more banks — Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Federal Bank, Axis Bank, and IndusInd Bank — are in the process of joining the pilot.