At an international forum, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said that Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) holds the key to making cross-border payments faster and more efficient. India, he said, is already conducting pilot projects for both retail and wholesale CBDCs — the former for daily transactions, and the latter for bank-to-bank settlements. Malhotra noted that India doesn’t need CBDC or stablecoins for domestic use, given its robust digital payment ecosystem, but urged other countries to adopt CBDC to realize its full cross-border potential. Emphasizing the risks of cryptocurrencies, he said they have major implications for monetary policy, capital flow control, and money laundering, reinforcing India’s preference for a regulated digital rupee.

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