Reliance Retail on February 2 announced that it will start accepting payments in digital rupee (e₹-R) in its stores across India. "After billing, if a consumer chooses to pay through e₹-R, a dynamic Digital Rupee acceptance QR code is presented to the consumer for scanning," the press release stated. The "in-store payment acceptance via e₹-R is launched at Reliance Retail’s Freshpik store and will progressively extend to all Reliance Retail stores across the country," the company said. The retail giant is partnering with payments solutions provider Innoviti Technologies, ICICI Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank to enable this feature. What is the digital rupee (e₹): It is a digital currency issued by the Reserve Bank of India and is also referred to as a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). It is a legal tender and carries the same value as physical cash. RBI introduced this to take advantage of the benefits that digital currency presents while avoiding the risks posed by cryptocurrencies, which it has openly shunned. For more about the digital rupee including how it's different from UPI, what are the benefits for consumers, and which banks are currently participating, check out our detailed explainer. For some of the potential benefits of the digital rupee, read our coverage of RBI governor Shaktikanta Das's speech from last December. Why does this matter: Since December 2022, RBI has been running a pilot to test the digital rupee for the retail segment (there is a separate test ongoing for the wholesale segment). As the largest retailer in…
