“We have leveraged the existing merchant infrastructure on the UPI to facilitate CBDC transactions…while the number of transactions have reached a high of 1 million (10 lakh) a day, we still see preference for UPI among the retail users. We of course hope that this will change going forward,” RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said
Mumbai:
Governor Shaktikanta Das on Monday said that permanent deletion of transactions can make the e-rupee or central bank digital currency (CBDC) become anonymous and make it at par with paper currency.
Speaking at at the BIS Innovation Summit 2024 via videoconference, Das said India is also working on making the CBDC transferable in the offline mode along with introducing the programmability feature to help its financial inclusion goals.
“We have leveraged the existing merchant infrastructure on the UPI to facilitate CBDC transactions…while the number of transactions have reached a high of 1 million (10 lakh) a day, we still see preference for UPI among the retail users. We of course hope that this will change going forward,” Das said
It can be noted that since the introduction of the CBDC in late 2022, there have been concerns about the privacy aspect, with some saying that the electronic nature will leave a trail of where all the currency has been used, unlike cash which offers anonymity.
“Anonymity can be addressed through legislation and/or through technology. For example, through permanent deletion of transactions,” Das said.
“The basic principle is that CBDC can have the same degree of anonymity as cash, no more and no less,” he added.
In the past, the RBI brass, including Das and his Deputy T Rabi Sankar have said that technology offers the solutions to such concerns on privacy.