Cred, MobiKwik Become First Fintech Firms to Offer RBI CBDC Wallets
Cred and MobiKwik launch RBI's E-Rupee wallets sponsored by Yes Bank, with UPI interoperability and planned programmable merchant payments. Limits set at Rs 50,000 daily and Rs 10,000 per transaction, with PIN-less payments under Rs 500—expanding digital rupee rails for retail merchants.
What happened
Cred and MobiKwik become first Indian fintech firms to offer RBI CBDC (E-Rupee) e-wallets, sponsored by Yes Bank, with UPI interoperability and planned
Key facts
- Rs 50,000 daily limit
- Rs 10,000 per transaction
- Rs 500 PIN-less threshold
Why this matters
Yes Bank's sponsorship of these fintech CBDC wallets signals a bank-fintech partnership model for E-Rupee distribution, creating potential acquisition or alliance opportunities as programmable merchant payments scale.
What to watch
- CBDC monthly transaction volume vs UPI growth curves
- RBI guidance on programmable/purpose-bound money for subsidies and corporate use
- Additional fintech entrants announcing CBDC wallets
- Any incentive/cashback programs to bootstrap E-Rupee adoption
- Offline and cross-border CBDC feature launches
- PhonePe, Paytm, Google Pay evaluate CBDC wallet integration to avoid distribution disadvantage
- Sponsor banks (beyond Yes Bank) compete to onboard more fintech CBDC partners
- Merchants pilot programmable payment offers tied to E-Rupee to test conditional discounts/loyalty
- RBI expands transaction limits and offline capability to spur retail engagement