In India, MobiKwik has become the first fintech company to launch a full-scale Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) wallet, e-rupee (e₹), in partnership with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Yes Bank.
Current MobiKwik users, who have completed their KYC, can open an e₹ wallet instantly and transfer money from their bank accounts. New users have to complete the video KYC process to access the feature.
The e₹ wallet is available to all Android users and it allows seamless peer-to-peer (P2P) and peer-to-merchant (P2M) transactions. Users can make payments by scanning the QR code, as the wallet is fully compatible with the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
The e₹ wallet supports denominations from ₹0.50 to ₹500 and allows daily transactions of up to ₹50,000, with a per-transaction limit of ₹10,000.
MobiKwik co-founder and MD Bipin Preet Singh stated that the e₹ will digitize the Indian rupee, strengthen the digital economy, and decrease reliance on cash. He added, “We aim to encourage its adoption across the country.”
In the past, only banks could handle digital currency. However, the RBI allowed non-banking entities to participate in April 2024.
MobiKwik joined the RBI’s CBDC project and launched the service quickly. The company, founded in 2009, has 167 million users and 4.4 million merchants, making it India’s largest digital wallet by market share.
As per MobiKwik, the wallet is a full-scale launch for all Android users, not a beta version for selected users. CRED has also launched a beta version of its e₹ wallet. The wallet allows whitelisted users to send money to UPI-linked accounts and other CBDC wallets.
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