Indian Retail Chain Enables CBDC Payments In Stores

Digital currency is becoming popular as several countries have begun launching their own central bank digital currency (CBDC) while promoting its adoption. In today’s news, India’s largest retail chain, Reliance Retail, announced that it had added support for the CBDC digital rupee payments in its stores’ lines. 

According to the retail chain, it plans to further expand the support to its other businesses in the future. Reliance Retail is one of the first firms in India to accept the country’s CBDC as a payment method. Currently, the digital rupee is accepted in Reliance Retail gourmet store line, Freshpik.

Reliance Retail To Expand The Support Of Indian CBDC

To foster the adoption of the digital rupee in India, Reliance Retails said it would expand the enablement of the CBDC as a payment method to its other properties. According to an executive at Reliance Retail, V, Subramaniam, the firm’s acceptance of the CBDC is in line with the company’s goal to bring “the power of choice” to Indian consumers.

Subramaniam further went ahead to point out that the move enables the company to offer various payment method options for Indian customers within its stores. Customers who choose to purchase any item in the store with the digital rupee will be provided a QR code which they’d have to scan in order to complete payment.

Per a report from TechCrunch, the CBDC enablement was a part of its partnership with ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and fintech company Innoviti Technologies. 

RBI Plans For The Region’s CBDC

While the main purpose for developing the digital rupee has already been implemented, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) seems to have more plans for the digital currency. In a 51-page note published on October 7, the country’s central bank pointed out some core components behind the issuance of the Indian digital rupee. 

The components included highlighting trust, safety, liquidity, and settlement finality and integrity. According to the document, for one, the country’s main stimulator of developing the CBDC is to lessen the operational costs concerning the management of physical cash in the country.

Part of the future plans the RBI has for the CBDC include improved cross-border payments and settlements that will be advantageous to remote locations and areas without a stable electricity supply or mobile network access. 

Though the development of CBDC is on the rise, the adoption rate is still in its infancy. Meanwhile, cryptocurrency adoption is beginning to leave that infancy stage as some companies and stores have since added support for crypto assets such as Bitcoin (BTC), Shiba Inu (SHIB), and Binance Coin (BNB), among others.

The cryptocurrency market, on the other hand, is demonstrating rapid growth. After experiencing several downturns last year, the global cryptocurrency market capitalization has moved over 10% since the beginning of the year, exceeding the $1 trillion mark for the first time in months. 

At the time of writing, the global cryptocurrency market capitalization sits at $1.133 trillion, up by 4.7% in the last 24 hours.