“If we talk about CBDC vis-a-vis UPI (united payments interface), usage of UPI is already prevalent and I don’t see that CBDC serves any special purpose,” the former deputy governor said Friday in Kolkata.
“It’s good to have one (CBDC) though,” he said at a Bandhan Bank programme, on the occasion of the bank’s ninth anniversary.
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The RBI is however looking to make CBDC accessible to a broader retail segment by enabling non-bank payment system operators to offer CBDC wallets.UPI, on the other hand, is gaining currency by the day. The UPI transactions hit Rs 20.64 lakh crore in the month of July growing by 35% year-on year. It’s the third straight month of Rs 20 lakh crore worth of transactions.Responding to a query related to internationalisation of rupee, Mundra opined that until the rupee becomes fully convertible, internationalisation of the currency cannot happen.The policy makers are however not in favour of making the rupee fully convertible in terms of capital account to prevent any sudden and severe withdrawal of global investment from Indian markets.During his speech on the future of Indian banking, Mundra said that banks need to sit up and reimagine their business models since fintech companies with greater digital capabilities are flooding the market.
A collaboration between the two however can be a won-win proposition, he said.
