E-rupee set for broader adoption as cloud facility gathers steam

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India’s blockchain-based digital rupee will likely witness more cross-border transactions in 2025 while exploring programmable money use cases. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may also integrate the e-rupee with existing digital payment systems to drive adoption. 

Acknowledging user education as key, RBI will offer in-person training on central bank digital currency (CBDC) in India’s capital, New Delhi, from February 3–7, 2025.

“For 2025, we can expect the e-rupee to enhance cross-border transactions and explore programmable money use cases. Integrating the e-rupee with existing payment systems like Unified Payments Interface (UPI) could provide a seamless experience and drive adoption, but user education and incentive structures will be key,” said Rohan Sharan, founder and chief executive of Timechain Labs, an on-chain application development firm utilizing BSV blockchain technology. 

In November 2024, former RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that while the central bank is experimenting with new CBDC use cases, it has not set any target date for the full-fledged launch of the e-rupee. 

“I think CBDC will facilitate cross-border payments in a much more efficient and cost-effective manner than anything else. I think CBDC can coexist with UPI; I think both can complement each other; both can coexist,” Das said.

Das also feels that CBDC has a massive potential in the future and is the future of currency.

In 2025, “Efforts to integrate the e-rupee with existing digital payment systems will be pivotal,” pointed out Amit Kumar Gupta, a legal practitioner at the Supreme Court of India. 

“The government is expected to finalize a regulatory framework for CBDCs,” Gupta told CoinGeek.

The RBI started its first digital rupee pilot in the wholesale segment on November 1, 2022, while the retail digital rupee pilot began on December 1, 2022. 

Nationwide CBDC rollout in 2025?

“In 2025, we can expect the RBI to refine its approach based on pilot feedback, potentially leading to broader implementation strategies that could enhance financial inclusion and streamline payment processes,” Sharat Chandra, founder of EmpowerEdge Ventures and a startup enabler, told CoinGeek. 

India is likely to continue experimenting with new use cases for the e-rupee. Some banks have been providing programmed CBDC loans to tenant farmers to be used for a specific purpose, such as buying fertilizers. In these cases, the CBDC can only be encashed and utilized in a fertilizer depot; it cannot be used elsewhere.

The e-rupee is also being utilized to connect purpose-bound money with generating agricultural carbon credits. For instance, banks can impose restrictions on the use of the money, ensuring it is only spent on specific items like fertilizers or other raw materials.

“I foresee a nationwide rollout in 2025. The pilot’s success sets the stage for broader adoption, potentially targeting millions of users by mid-2025. I see the trendlines moving beyond retail and wholesale and the e-rupee could enable innovative applications like programmable money and smart contract automation,” pointed out Raj Kapoor, founder of India Blockchain Alliance (IBA).

“We are expected to engage in more cross-border CBDC projects, positioning the e-rupee as a tool for regional financial integration. To bolster adoption, comprehensive guidelines for CBDC usage and integration with private fintechs are on the anvil that are anticipated to ensure security and scalability,” Kapoor told CoinGeek.

Cloud facility on the way 

In 2025, the central bank will reportedly roll out a pilot program providing financial firms with affordable local cloud data storage options. The RBI’s cloud platform will partner with local information technology firms, positioning it to compete with global giants like Amazon Web Services (NASDAQ: AMZN), Microsoft Azure (NASDAQ: MSFT), Google Cloud (NASDAQ: GOOGL), and IBM Cloud (NASDAQ: IBM). The cloud service will be designed to meet the needs of smaller banking and financial services firms that find current offerings too expensive.

In November, Das informed that work on setting up the financial sector cloud facility by the RBI was gathering pace. 

RBI announced the introduction of a dedicated cloud facility for the financial sector in response to rising cybercrime and to strengthen data security. The new cloud infrastructure is expected to be designed to improve privacy, scalability, and business continuity. The central bank said it intends to roll out the cloud facility in a calibrated fashion over the medium term. 

Banks and financial entities are maintaining an ever-increasing volume of data, and many of them are utilizing cloud facilities for this purpose, according to the RBI.

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