New Delhi, June 17 -- In 2019, Meta announced plans to launch a private digital currency. Fearing an onslaught of private cryptocurrencies, some countries responded by announcing their own central bank digital currencies (CBDC). Fast forward to today: Every G20 nation is exploring a CBDC, with 13 countries having plans in the pilot stage. Yet CBDCs have barely made a dent in national payment systems.

India launched the e-rupee for individuals in December 2022. And yet, at the end of March 2025, the value of the e-rupee in circulation, at Rs.1,016 crore, was a tiny drop in the ocean of India's digital payment ecosystem.







The slow uptake of the digital rupee mirrors the experience of other countries. CBDCs launched earlier (Nigeria, ...