Indian retail chain is rolling out support for CBDC payments in stores: report – Crypto News Today

One of India’s largest retail chains, Reliance Retail, has announced that it has started accepting digital rupees in one of its store ranges and plans to expand the rollout to all of its businesses.

In a report Per Tech Crunch, the company said support for central bank digital currency (CBDC) is already rolling out to Freshpik, its line of gourmet stores. Additionally, the company has also noted that it will extend support for the digital rupee to all of its properties, a move that could push the adoption of the country’s CBDC forward.

V Subramaniam, an executive at Reliance Retail, pointed out that the acceptance of central bank digital currency adheres to the company’s vision of offering “the power of choice” to Indian consumers. The executive also pointed out that the initiative allows the company to offer an alternative payment option in its stores.

According to the report, Reliance Retail has partnered with ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and fintech company Innoviti Technologies to roll out support for the CBDC. Consumers who choose to pay with the digital rupee will receive a QR code at the store to complete their payment.

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The country’s CBDC plans were outlined by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on October 7 in a 51-page memo. The country’s central bank has defined various factors, including potential positive and negative effects. According to the RBI, one of the motivations for a CBDC is to reduce the operational costs of cash management.

The RBI launched the Digital Rupee Wholesale Pilot in November 2022 for institutions and traders. On December 1, 2022, the central bank launched the CBDC pilot for retail consumers within a closed user group of merchants and customers.