India’s Retail Giant to Adopt Digital Rupees

India’s largest retail chain Reliance Retail will accept digital rupee payments in an effort to increase adoption of CBDCs. Reliance, led by Mukesh Ambani, said it has partnered with ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Fintech Innoviti Technologies to launch in-store support for the digital rupee. The retail giant said on Thursday that customers wishing to pay with digital rupees will be provided with a digital rupee QR code to scan in-store.

Reliance Retail, part of Indian conglomerate Reliance, said it has made CBDC support available on its gourmet store Freshpik and will eventually expand the feature across all its properties. The move, made on Thursday, makes Reliance the largest Indian firm to adopt the digital rupee.

The Reserve Bank of India began piloting the digital rupee for retail markets in selected Indian cities in December. Reliance Retail Director V. Subramaniam said in a statement;

“This historic initiative to pioneer digital currency adoption in our stores is in line with the company’s strategic vision of giving Indian consumers the power of choice.” He continued: “With more Indians willing to transact digitally, this initiative will help us offer an efficient and secure alternative payment method to customers in our stores.”

Through the digital rupee, the Reserve Bank of India aims to reduce the economy’s reliance on cash, providing cheaper and smoother international deals, while protecting people from the volatility of private cryptocurrencies. Based on the test results of the ongoing pilot, the central bank plans to test additional features and applications of the digital rupee.