Shri Shaktikanta Das, Governor, Reserve Bank of India, held a meeting with select FinTech entities (including AgriTechs) and some of their Associations on December 14, 2022. The meeting was also attended by Shri M. K. Jain, Deputy Governor, along with a few senior officials of the RBI. In his introductory remarks, the Governor stated that FinTech initiatives and start-ups are important segments of aspirational India. They are playing a transformative role in the finan

The Reserve Bank announces the launch of the first pilot for retail digital Rupee (e₹-R) on December 01, 2022. It may be recalled that RBI had, in a Press Release dated October 31, 2022, indicated that the pilot in e₹-R would commence in a month’s time. 2. The pilot would cover select locations in closed user group (CUG) comprising participating customers and merchants. The e₹-R would be in the form of a digital token that represents legal tender. It would be issued i

RBI vide Press Release dated October 7, 2022 had announced that the Reserve Bank will soon commence pilot launches of Digital Rupee (e₹) for specific use cases. Accordingly, the first pilot in the Digital Rupee - Wholesale segment (e₹-W) shall commence on November 1, 2022. 2. The use case for this pilot is settlement of secondary market transactions in government securities. Use of e₹-W is expected to make the inter-bank market more efficient. Settlement in central ba

An Inter-Regulatory Technical Group on FinTech (IRTG on FinTech) had been constituted under the aegis of the Financial Stability and Development Council - Sub Committee (FSDC-SC). The terms of reference (ToR) of IRTG on FinTech include discussion on issues relating to hybrid product/service falling under the regulatory ambit of different financial sector regulators for admission in Regulatory Sandbox (RS) and framing of Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Inter-ope

The Reserve Bank of India has today released a Concept Note on Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) for India. The purpose behind the issue of this Concept Note is to create awareness about CBDCs in general and the planned features of the Digital Rupee (e₹), in particular. It explains the objectives, choices, benefits, and risks of issuing a CBDC in India. The Note also seeks to explain Reserve Bank’s approach towards introduction of the CBDC. The Concept Note also di

The Reserve Bank had announced opening of the ‘On Tap’ application facility for the theme ‘Retail Payments’ under Regulatory Sandbox vide Press release dated October 08, 2021. 2. In this regard, it is informed that the below mentioned two entities have been selected for the ‘Test Phase’: Sl. No. Sandbox Entity Product Description 1 HDFC Bank (in partnership with Crunchfish AB1) The product ‘Offline Retail Payments’ provides capability for customer and merchants to be

Based upon the feedback received from various stakeholders, and in order to foster continuous innovation in various areas pertaining to fintech as well as to provide testing platform to the different products/ services/ technology which fall under the domain of the Reserve Bank as indicated in para 6.1.3 of the Enabling Framework for Regulatory Sandbox, it is announced that the Fifth Cohort under Regulatory Sandbox will be theme neutral. Innovative products/ services/

Rural finance encompasses a range of financial services offered to rural customers, including farmers, at all income levels. In a country like India, rural credit is closely related to inclusive economic growth, as it caters to the requirements of agriculture and allied activities, ancillary industries, small businesses, etc. At present, the process for getting such finance requires customer to visit a bank branch in-person along with the proof of land ownership and o

In the Second Cohort under the Regulatory Sandbox (RS) with ‘Cross-Border Payments’ as its theme, eight entities commenced testing of their products which was communicated vide Press Release dated September 13, 2021. 2. The following four entities have completed the ‘Test Phase’. Sl. No. Sandbox Entity Description 1 Cashfree Payments India Private Limited The product extends a cross-border payment platform to facilitate the purchase of assets listed on foreign exchang

The Reserve Bank had announced the theme for the Fourth Cohort under the Regulatory Sandbox (RS) as ‘Prevention and Mitigation of Financial Frauds’ vide Press Release dated October 08, 2021. It now announces opening of application window for the Fourth Cohort to eligible entities. 2. The application for the Fourth Cohort may be submitted from June 15, 2022 to August 01, 2022. A scanned copy of the application together with enclosures (maximum size 10 MB), may be forwa