Cred, MobiKwik Become First Fintech Firms to Offer RBI's CBDC e-Rupee Wallets
Sponsored by Yes Bank, the new e-Rupee wallets support UPI p2p and p2m payments, with roadmap features including programmable merchant payments and PIN-less transactions below Rs 500. Daily limit set at Rs 50,000 with Rs 10,000 per transaction.
What happened
Cred and MobiKwik become first fintech firms to offer RBI CBDC (e-Rupee) wallets, sponsored by Yes Bank, supporting UPI p2p/p2m payments with plans for
Key facts
- Rs 50,000 daily limit
- Rs 10,000 per transaction
- Rs 500 PIN-less threshold
Why this matters
Yes Bank's sponsorship model for fintech CBDC wallets creates a partnership template worth evaluating for banks and platforms seeking early positioning in India's digital currency rails.
What to watch
- RBI announcement widening CBDC issuer eligibility to more non-bank fintechs
- Launch of programmable merchant payment features and PIN-less sub-Rs500 flows
- MDR/interchange policy signals distinguishing CBDC from UPI economics
- Monthly e-Rupee circulation and active wallet numbers in RBI bulletins
- Interoperability upgrades linking CBDC to cross-border/offline rails
- Other large fintechs (PhonePe, Paytm, Google Pay) apply for CBDC wallet issuance to avoid rail exclusion
- Sponsor banks beyond Yes Bank onboard to widen distribution and settlement capacity
- RBI expands per-transaction/daily limits and pushes offline + programmable pilots to sharpen differentiation
- Cred/MobiKwik layer loyalty/cashback incentives to seed initial wallet loads
- Merchant acquirers pilot programmable disbursement use cases (subsidies, vouchers, escrow-like payouts)