The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is considering pilots for cross-border use of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) while continuing domestic expansion of the digital rupee. In its 2025-26 annual report, the RBI says it explores CBDC use beyond domestic settings by planning cross-border testing with selected use cases. It notes that it signed a memorandum of understanding on digital asset collaboration with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in 2025-26 and held bilateral discussions with MAS and the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) to operationalise a cross-border CBDC pilot. The RBI also participates in multilateral work led by the BIS Innovation Hub aimed at improving cross-border payments through CBDCs. Domestically, the central bank plans to expand CBDC pilots in 2026-27, extending digital rupee experiments to more direct benefit transfer (DBT) applications and to domestic retail space, using CBDCs’ programmability features. Both sources also reference further work around asset tokenisation and widening participation in pilots, alongside welfare applications. The RBI’s agenda for FY27 includes bilateral and multilateral engagement on cross-border CBDC projects, along with governance and technical standards testing.
RBI considers cross-border CBDC pilots, alongside domestic digital rupee and tokenisation plans
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is considering pilots for cross-border use of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) while continuing domestic expansion of the digital rupee. In its 2025-26 annual rep...
- The RBI plans to explore cross-border CBDC pilots with selected use cases.
- The RBI signed an MoU on digital asset collaboration with MAS in 2025-26.
- The RBI is in bilateral discussions with MAS and the UAE central bank (CBUAE) to operationalise cross-border CBDC pilots.
- Domestically, the RBI plans to expand digital rupee/CBDC experiments for DBT and domestic retail use, using CBDCs’ programmability.
- The RBI also plans further pilots related to asset tokenisation and broader participation.
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank will explore the use of CBDC in cross-border transactions besides expanding the digital rupee to more direct benefit transfer schemes and domestic retail space during the current fiscal year. During 2025-26, the central bank launched multiple Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilots under direct benefit transfer (DBT) schemes of the Centre and state governments, leveraging the programmability capability of CBDCs, said the RBI's annual report for 2025-26. On cross-border payments, the RBI signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) on digital asset collaboration with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in 2025-26. Also, bilateral discussions with MAS and the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) were held for operationalising a cross-border CBDC pilot. The Reserve Bank also joined multilateral BIS-Innovation Hub-led initiatives, which are focused on enhancing cross-border payments through CBDCs. The Reserve Bank plans to expand the CBDC pilot to cover new use cases under DBT schemes and the domestic retail space, while exploring additional pilots on tokenisation of financial assets and widening participant coverage. On cross-border payments, the RBI intends to operationalise bilateral CBDC pilots with select use cases and deepen engagement in multilateral projects. "Exploring a bilateral/multilateral crossborder CBDC pilot with select use cases and engaging in multilateral projects on cross-border payments on technical and governance standards" is one of the RBI's agenda for FY27. Providing a framework for testing of innovative products/services leveraging CBDC under the CBDC and Asset Tokenisation (CAT) sandbox is also on the RBI's to-do list during the current fiscal year. The value of bank notes in circulation in digital form CBDC-R stood at Rs 771.66 crore as on March 31, 2026, as compared to Rs 1,016.46 crore as on March 31, 2025.
2 months agoCentral bank will expand digital rupee experiments in 2026-27, focusing on cross-border payments, asset tokenisation, programmable money and welfare applications
2 months ago
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