HDFC Bank on Thursday, July 13, said it has launched a UPI QR code interoperable with India’s digital rupee or central bank digital currency (CBDC), thus becoming the first commercial lender in India to do so. With this, customers and merchants can make payments using digital rupee through this UPI QR code.
Recently, RBI Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar said such interoperability will be implemented in July.
“HDFC Bank today announced the launch of UPI QR code interoperable with India’s sovereign digital currency, Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). With this, HDFC Bank becomes one of the first banks in the country to complete the integration process,” HDFC Bank said in a statement.
HDFC Bank has signed up over 1 lakh customers and 1,70,000 merchants in pilot programmes using the digital rupee, it said.
“The interoperable UPI QR code allows HDFC Bank merchants who have been onboarded on the bank’s CBDC platform, to accept payments from their customers in the form of Digital Rupee currency, boosting usage of CBDC in day-to-day transactions,” the lender said.
HDFC Bank currently facilitates payments in digital rupee in Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Ahmedabad, Guwahati, and Gangtok, among other cities.
“An interoperable QR code enables basic QR payment acceptance terminal to support Scan & Pay feature from various factors & payment options. It provides the freedom to accept payments. using the same QR from various form factors,” the bank said in the statement.
Parag Rao, country head (payments, consumer finance, technology & digital banking) at HDFC Bank, said, “HDFC Bank has always been a pioneer in the application of Digital Banking initiatives, and we are committed to providing best-in-class and enhanced experience to our customers. Our digital banking solutions are one of the best and most secured in the country. CBDC is a forward-looking initiative and its QR interoperability with the already accepted and widely popular UPI is going to prove greatly beneficial to its usage.”
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on November 1, 2022, started a pilot on CDBC in the wholesale segment. It further rolled out retail testing on December 1. The RBI aims to raise the daily transaction volume of CDBC retail to 1 million by the end of 2023, as compared to 5,000-10,000 now.
Benefits of UPI QR Code Interoperable With Digital Rupee:
For Consumers:
- Transact money available in their CBDC wallet across UPI QR code
- No need to scan different QR codes at the same merchant
For Merchants:
- Only need to display one QR code at the storefront or through the acquiring bank’s mobile application
- No need for merchants to change their existing QR codes.
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