Ripple's Indian Partner Joins Digital Rupee CBDC Project

With new functionality supported by the Mumbai-headquartered bank, the adoption of Digital Indian Rupee (INR) will be accelerated in both private and corporate finances. Users will even be able to authorize operations with Digital INR through a QR-code.

Yes Bank joins Reserve Bank of India's Digital Rupee project: Details

Yes Bank, one of the largest banks in India, announced that it became interoperable with Unified Payments Interface (UPI) by Reserve Bank of India's Digital Rupee CBDC application. With this interface, thousands of Yes Bank customers will be able to send and receive transfers in Digital Rupees.

The integration enables QR-code functionality: Users will be able to send domestic remittances between various Indian states in a seamless and fast manner.

As per an article of The Economic Times, an Indian financial media outlet, this integration will be of paramount importance for the Digital Rupee product development, testing and adoption:

This move is set to significantly expand the reach of the Digital Rupee (e₹) and underscores the bank's commitment towards propelling digital innovations, and providing a wide range of transactional options for users across the nation

The development of an Indian CBDC gained traction in 2022 when the nation-wide cryptocurrency ban was lifted in India. In Q4, 2022, the country organized two pilot campaigns for Digital INR, targeting wholesalers and retail users respectively.

Ripple bets big on CBDC experiments across globe

Since 2018, Yes Bank has been collaborating with U.S. fintech decacorn Ripple to help facilitate cross-border remittances from various regions of the globe, an official statement said.

While it is unclear whether RippleNet and XRP are used in the Digital INR development, Ripple has already fueled some successful CBDC products across the globe.

Since August 2023, it has been contributing to the Mastercard CBDC alliance. Also, it is a long-term partner of government-backed stablecoin development in Colombia, Nauru and Montenegro.