Bybit Launches Wallet-Based e-Rupee Payments for Indian Users

The cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has introduced digital payments in rupees. Users of the rupee would benefit from increased security with the introduction of the Indian central bank digital currency (CBDC) on the exchange, according to the exchange.

There will be a wallet-based payment option for the e-rupee. It complements the current Bybit alternatives for making payments in Indian rupees through bank transfers, third-party services like Paytm, and India’s Unified Payments Interface, the national payments system operated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

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Users “may mitigate the risk of their bank accounts being targeted by cybercriminals using the digital rupee”, according to a statement from Dubai-based Bybit. Joan Han, director of sales and marketing at Bybit, stated:

“Bybit hopes to improve the payment experience for INR [Indian rupee] users by integrating the eRupee payment, encouraging dependability and trust in every transaction. It is also anticipated that this initiative will draw additional merchants to the site.”

The e-rupee is now utilized for peer-to-peer cryptocurrency transactions on Bybit. An experimental initiative is the Indian CBDC. Soon after the wholesale version’s release, in December 2022, the retail e-rupee was introduced.

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A memorandum of agreement on a CBDC bridge between the jurisdictions was signed in March 2023 by the RBI and the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates.

It is notable that the digital rupee—or any other CBDC—is available on a cryptocurrency exchange. Thus far, there has been little use of the retail e-rupee, even with banks and shops trying to make it more widely accepted. There were 5 million users of the retail e-rupee as of June. The e-rupee’s offline capabilities, which the RBI intends to develop, may encourage the use of the currency in places with spotty internet connectivity.

The digital rupee gained programmability this year. The programmable e-rupee was initially used in April by IndusInd Bank to reimburse farmers for carbon credits. However, the usage of wholesale e-rupee has been restricted, and its “cumbersome” nature has drawn criticism.

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