India wants to test its own digital currency in a pilot project. The project will start on Thursday in four cities, including the capital New Delhi and the financial center Mumbai with four local banks, the Indian central bank said.
More banks and cities will be added later. The trial will test the robustness of the process of creating and distributing the “digital rupee” (e₹-R) and its real-time use in retail, it said.
While shopping, you scan a QR code
The “digital rupee” has the same value as individual notes and coins and would be distributed by banks, it said. Users could transact with a digital wallet from the participating banks stored on their mobile phone or other device. Thus, payments to merchants could be made using a merchant’s QR code. “The e₹-R offers features of physical money, such as trust, security and a final settlement. As in the case of cash, it will not bear interest and can be converted into other forms of money, such as bank deposits.
Several central banks around the world are considering issuing a digital version of their currencies. The European Central Bank has also been investigating the introduction of a digital version of the euro for some time. The works are a response to the strong rise of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ether.
Source: Krone
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