India’s digital rupee adoption has crossed 150 million cumulative transactions since the RBI CBDC pilot launched in December 2022, yet only around 10 million users are active on the platform. That is just 0.42% of India’s 1.4 billion population, revealing a significant gap between milestone headlines and real-world traction.
Key Takeaways: Digital Rupee by the Numbers
- The RBI CBDC pilot went live in December 2022 with select banks and a retail e-rupee wallet.
- Total e-rupee transactions have crossed 150 million, with cumulative value exceeding Rs 34,000 crore.
- Active users stand at roughly 10 million, or just 0.42% of Indians.
- Daily transaction volumes peaked near 1 million in December 2023, then fell sharply to around 100,000 per day.
- RBI is testing offline NFC-based payments and exploring BRICS CBDC linkages for cross-border use.
- UPI processed over 12 billion transactions in December 2023 alone, dwarfing e-rupee volumes entirely.
How Many People Use the Digital Rupee, and Is It Successful?
The RBI CBDC pilot has enrolled roughly 10 million users across participating banks including SBI, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank, according to RBI’s annual report. That sounds large until you compare it to India’s 500 million-plus UPI users.
Daily volumes tell a sharper story. The pilot briefly touched 1 million daily transactions in December 2023, a figure that excited policymakers. But that spike was partly driven by incentive schemes and bank-pushed adoption. Since then, organic daily volumes have settled to around 100,000 transactions, a 90% drop, per reporting by the Economic Times and RBI disclosures.
Why Has Digital Rupee Adoption Stalled?
Users and merchants already have UPI, which is fast, free, and universally accepted. The e-rupee wallet does not yet offer anything meaningfully different for everyday purchases. Incentive fatigue set in quickly once banks stopped offering cashback nudges.
Merchant onboarding has also been slow. Without a critical mass of merchants accepting the digital rupee, users have little reason to keep their wallets topped up. The RBI acknowledged in its 2023-24 annual report that enhancing merchant acceptance infrastructure remains a key challenge for the CBDC programme.
RBI CBDC Pilot Progress: A Timeline
| Period | Milestone | Approx. Daily Volume |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 2022 | Retail pilot launches with 4 banks, 4 cities | Minimal (pilot phase) |
| Mid 2023 | Expanded to 13 banks, 26 cities; 1 million users | ~50,000 |
| Dec 2023 | Peak: ~1 million daily transactions reported | ~1,000,000 |
| 2024 | Incentive schemes wound down; volumes drop | ~100,000 |
| 2025-26 | Cumulative 150M+ transactions; NFC pilot begins | ~100,000 (est.) |
Sources: Reserve Bank of India Annual Report 2023-24; Economic Times CBDC coverage; BIS Working Paper on CBDC Adoption Barriers.
UPI vs Digital Rupee: A Candid Comparison
UPI is in a completely different league. In December 2023 alone, UPI processed over 12 billion transactions worth Rs 18.23 lakh crore, according to NPCI data. The e-rupee’s cumulative 150 million total across nearly three years is what UPI does in roughly 18 minutes.
That comparison is not entirely fair, since the digital rupee has different design goals. But for a retail user in Mumbai or Jaipur, the question is simple: why switch? UPI works everywhere, it is instant, and there is no learning curve.
Where Digital Rupee Adoption Could Grow
The RBI is testing offline NFC payments, allowing two phones to transact by tapping together without internet connectivity. For rural India with patchy data coverage, that is a real-world solution UPI cannot fully match. For broader context on blockchain-based settlement infrastructure, the underlying technology mirrors what private chains are already doing.
Cross-border payments are the other big bet, with India exploring BRICS CBDC linkage frameworks to settle trades without SWIFT or dollar-denominated correspondent banks.
What This Means for Indian Crypto Investors
The digital rupee is a government-issued, RBI-controlled currency. It is not a cryptocurrency and does not carry the 30% VDA tax or 1% TDS that applies to assets like Bitcoin or tokens traded on WazirX, CoinDCX, or ZebPay. The RBI maintains a clear distinction between its CBDC and private virtual digital assets, consistent with its broader stance on crypto prohibition discussions.
For retail investors, the digital rupee is simply a digital form of cash. It does not appreciate, it does not give DeFi yields, and it is not part of the Web3 ecosystem in any meaningful sense.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people use the Digital Rupee in India?
As of mid-2025, approximately 10 million users have registered for the retail e-rupee wallet through participating banks, representing roughly 0.42% of India’s population. Merchant adoption remains limited, which constrains everyday usability.
How many e-rupee transactions have there been in total?
The RBI CBDC pilot has recorded over 150 million cumulative transactions since December 2022, with a total value exceeding Rs 34,000 crore. Daily volumes peaked at roughly 1 million in December 2023 but have since dropped to an estimated 100,000 per day.
Is the Digital Rupee successful compared to UPI?
By raw volume, no. UPI processes billions of transactions monthly while the digital rupee sits at around 100,000 daily. The e-rupee has different design goals, including offline NFC payments and programmable money, but has not yet found a use case that drives organic mass adoption.
What is offline CBDC NFC, and why does it matter?
The RBI is piloting an offline NFC payment mode for the digital rupee, allowing two smartphones to transact by tapping together without internet connectivity. This is potentially important for rural India and areas with poor network coverage where UPI often fails.
What is BRICS CBDC linkage, and how does India fit in?
BRICS CBDC linkage refers to a proposed framework where member nations connect their central bank digital currencies for cross-border settlements, reducing dependence on SWIFT and the US dollar. India is in exploratory discussions, though no operational system is live yet.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Crypto assets are subject to high market risk. Always conduct your own research before making any financial decisions.
Last updated: June 2025. Reviewed by the CryptoWire editorial team.
