Key Takeaways
- The Canara Bank Digital Rupee app introduces UPI‑compatible QR payments for CBDC.
- Customers can load, transfer and redeem digital currency directly from their mobile wallets.
- The pilot rollout covers 26 cities across India, targeting early adopters.
Thiruvananthapuram: Canara Bank has launched the UPI Interoperable Digital Rupee‘ mobile application as a part of the Reserve Bank of India’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot project.
Canara Bank is the first bank among public and private sector banks to introduce this feature in the bank’s CBDC mobile app called the “Canara Digital Rupee app”
With the introduction of this innovative feature, customers will be able to scan merchant UPI QR codes using the Canara Digital Rupee app and make the payment through digital currency, a release said.
Further, this feature empowers merchants to accept digital currency payments using their existing UPI QR codes in addition to UPI-based payments without the requirement of a separate onboarding process for CBDC.
According to K. Satyanarayana Raju, Managing Director and CEO of Canara Bank, the launch of the Canara Bank Digital Rupee mobile application enabled with UPI interoperability is a revolutionary step towards digitalizing the Indian economy.
He expressed pride in the launch of the app, which will enable customers to enjoy the benefits of fast and secure transactions with digital currency devised by the RBI.
The Canara Bank Digital Rupee mobile application is now available for both Android and iOS users, enabling customers to conveniently transact in digital currency.
The digital currency is legal tender as per RBI regulations, and the launch of this app is a significant step towards the adoption of digital currency in India.
Some of the features of the app are:
- Loading currency into their CBDC Wallet by debiting the linked account.
- Redeeming digital currency and crediting the amount back to the linked account.
- Transferring digital currency to any individual with a CBDC wallet.
Users can also send and collect payments through CBDC QR‑based payments and make payments to merchants via QR codes (both CBDC QR and UPI QR).
The Canara Bank Digital Rupee Mobile app has been developed in compliance with RBI guidelines and is backed by advanced block chain technology to ensure high security and efficiency. The app features multi-factor authentication and encryption, making transactions secure and protecting user data.
The facility is currently being offered on a pilot basis to customers and merchants of the bank in 26 cities across India. The Canara Bank Digital Rupee app is available for all whitelisted customers in these 26 cities. If any customer is not whitelisted, then they will be prompted to request whitelisting during the installation of the app. The customer will get a message for whitelisting from the bank within 24 hours, upon which they can proceed with the installation of the app.
