RBI targets polymer currency-note rollout in early FY28
The Reserve Bank of India plans to introduce polymer currency notes in early FY28, subject to execution of its rollout plan. The durable notes are expected to initially support high-velocity, lower-denomination cash transactions.
What happened
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) · RBI plans to introduce durable polymer currency notes in early FY28, initially benefiting high-velocity lower-denomination cash
Key facts
- FY28
- over 30 years
- 4% inflation target
Why this matters
Payments, cash-management, ATM, and vending-equipment players should assess polymer-note compatibility and partnership opportunities ahead of a potentially phased RBI rollout.
What to watch
- RBI notification naming denominations, security features, launch geography and production volumes.
- Currency printing contracts or substrate procurement announcements involving polymer suppliers and Indian security-printing entities.
- Pilot results on counterfeit resistance, note life, machine acceptance and public adoption.
- ATM, cash recycler, vending and transit-ticketing equipment upgrade announcements.
- Changes in currency-in-circulation growth, lower-denomination demand and UPI transaction share in cash-intensive categories.
- Reports of heat, folding, ink, recyclability or accessibility issues that could alter rollout design.
- Model lower cash-note replacement and cash-processing costs for banks, cash-in-transit firms and RBI-linked currency operations once scale is reached.
- Assess ATM, cash recycler, vending-machine and self-checkout acceptance equipment for polymer-note compatibility and required software or sensor recalibration.
- Retailers with high cash exposure should track damaged-note rejection rates, reconciliation time and till shortages by denomination to quantify potential operational gains.
- Payment providers should position offline-capable digital payment products alongside cash, especially for transit, rural commerce, value retail and network-disruption use cases.
- Brands and retailers should prepare consumer-facing communication for note authentication and handling, reducing confusion during an initial mixed paper-polymer circulation period.