Frontier AdoptionEvidence-graded tracking of what's actually live

Deployments · platform by Reserve Bank of India

Reserve Bank of India wholesale digital rupee (e₹-W) pilotNew

The RBI's wholesale CBDC pilot, begun on 1 November 2022 with nine banks to settle secondary-market trades in government securities in central bank money. It was later widened to interbank borrowing, and in 2025-26 the RBI started a pilot issuing and trading tokenised certificates of deposit on its Unified Markets Interface, settled in wholesale e₹.

AnnouncedProof of conceptPilotLive (limited)Live (scaled)

Pilot since 1 Nov 2022[1] · Reviewed 13d ago

Assets
Wholesale central-bank money[1]
Wholesale digital rupee (e₹-W)
Networks
Unknown ledger Not disclosed[1]
Use cases
Delivery versus payment (DvP)[2]Domestic payments[2]Primary issuance[3]Cross-border payments[2]
Jurisdictions
India

Participants

Assets

Timeline

  1. Happened 7 Sep 2026 · Scope expansion · recorded 18 Oct 2026
    SEBI's Demat 2.0 pilot begins issuing tokenised corporate bonds whose cash leg settles in wholesale e₹ through the Unified Markets Interface.[5]
  2. Happened Mar 2026 (month only) · Scope expansion · recorded 15 Oct 2026
    In 2025-26 the government securities and interbank borrowing pilots are expanded and a tokenised certificate of deposit pilot settled in wholesale e₹ begins on the Unified Markets Interface.[2][3]
  3. Happened 8 Oct 2025 · Scope expansion · recorded 18 Oct 2026
    The RBI starts a deposit tokenisation pilot on the wholesale e₹ platform, with a small group of banks testing interbank transfers of tokens backed one to one by deposits.[4]
  4. Happened 1 Nov 2022 · Launch · recorded 15 Oct 2026
    Wholesale e₹ pilot starts with nine banks settling secondary-market government securities trades.[1]

Sources

  1. [1]Operationalisation of Central Bank Digital Currency-Wholesale (e₹-W) Pilot — Reserve Bank of India, 31 Oct 2022. Accessed 15 Oct 2026.A
  2. [2]Annual Report 2025-26: VI. Regulation, Supervision and Financial Stability — Reserve Bank of India, 29 May 2026. Accessed 15 Oct 2026.A
  3. [3]Annual Report 2025-26: V. Financial Markets and Foreign Exchange Management — Reserve Bank of India, 29 May 2026. Accessed 15 Oct 2026.A
  4. [4]RBI Launches Deposit Tokenisation Pilot on Wholesale CBDC Platform — FinanceFeeds, 9 Oct 2025. Accessed 18 Oct 2026.C
  5. [5]Successful launch of “Demat 2.0” Pilot project for Tokenised Corporate Bonds — Securities and Exchange Board of India, 10 Sep 2026. Accessed 18 Oct 2026.A

Spotted something out of date or missing? Suggest a correction, ideally with a source.