Welcome, ‘The Digital Rupee’!

  •   Mon, Nov 21 2022
  •   By B K Murthy

November 21, 2022

Money has come a long way in human history… Starting with barter, money took on physical distinct form through coins and notes printed by Royalty/Government of the country. Then came banks with promise of interest and ensuring safety of money from loss / theft. Cheque was the main form in which money was being withdrawn or transferred to another person. Come technology, we saw chequeless transactions such as debit / credit card payments / direct debits / direct credits / mandates / payment gateways / wallets, then electronic funds transfer such RTGS/IMPS etc. In the last couple of years, UPI based systems such as Gpay, BharatPe etc. have become widely popular. Demonetisation gave a big fillip to digital payments through UPI based systems. Consumers could pay without cheques/without remembering their account numbers and without knowing payee’s details such as account number / bank details. Sensitive details such as bank name, account number became “hidden and secure.” All one needed is the mobile, UPI PIN and the payee’s mobile number. Payments are instant with debit being informed to the payer and credit being informed to the payee.

Now the latest arrival on the scene in the foreseeable future is digital currency. On Nov 1 this year RBI launched a pilot project to start the process of digital rupee / e-rupee (also known as CBDC for Central Bank Digital Currency). Only a handful of countries have issued digital currencies till now. US and China are still in trial / research phases of introduction of digital currency in their countries. The pilot project in our country will involve selected banks and selected transactions. Some public sector banks, some private sector banks and one international bank (HSBC) will participate in the pilot project for select transactions (currently interbank transactions involving sale / purchase of government securities in secondary market) …. RBI intends to launch pilot project for select customers (of retail segment) sooner than later.

Traditionally central banks have issued / printed (notes) or minted (coins) money and pushed it to economy (mainly through banks). Digital currencies will be created / issued only in digital form (without physical notes / coins) and will be in the “electronic / digital” custody of RBI itself. Once issued, these currencies can be purchased by the public through Apps. Once purchased the purchaser becomes the “owner” of the digital currency. So, the ownership is controlled and tracked digitally for each and every transaction in digital currency. In physical currency if currency goes into another person’s hand, there is no way to prove whether passing of money was for a transaction or by mistake / theft or loss. In a funds transfer or current digital payments, money is transferred from payer’s account to the payee’s account. However, in digital currency the “custody” is still with the RBI, only the passing of title (ownership) from person to person (or entity to entity) will be noted on the currency electronically/digitally through blockchain technology. So, this money will not go to intermediaries such as banks / wallets. Digital currency transactions will not require a bank account.

Digital currency will be legal tender in the same way as physical currency and digital currency’s value will be equal to the corresponding physical currency. If a person exchanges his digital currency with physical currency in a bank, bank will become the latest owner of the digital currency paid by the person for the physical notes/coins from bank.

Blockchain technology in which digital currency details are stored is one of the latest technologies in computing and considered as highly secure and tamperproof for voluminous data handling. This technology is used to create (issue) digital currency and to record movement of its ownership due to transactions.

Obviously, the overheads of printing, transporting, and storing of notes /coins will not arise for digital currency nor the hassles old / soiled notes, cut notes, corroded coins, and moreover fake notes. The digital currency details will be solely maintained, updated, and controlled by the central bank in its electronic databases. DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology), in particular, Blockchain will be used for this purpose.

Stopping/reducing paper currency will have obvious salutary effect on environment and stopping/reducing coins will result in saving of metal cost.

Once fully implemented, the only lure for customers to convert digital money to bank money (bank accounts) will be the interest offered by banks.

Only time will tell whether physical currency will fully give way to digital currency… if that happens, currency notes and coins can only be seen in museums!

 

 
By B K Murthy
B K Murthy is a former banking technology professional with more than three decades of experience in IT department of banks/in banking software companies in India/abroad. His last stint was with an American MNC where he was a trainer for 10 years. His role as trainer in banking software gave him insight to banking practices of numerous Indian and international client banks.
To submit your article / poem / short story to Daijiworld, please email it to news@daijiworld.com mentioning 'Article/poem submission for daijiworld' in the subject line. Please note the following:

  • The article / poem / short story should be original and previously unpublished in other websites except in the personal blog of the author. We will cross-check the originality of the article, and if found to be copied from another source in whole or in parts without appropriate acknowledgment, the submission will be rejected.
  • The author of the poem / article / short story should include a brief self-introduction limited to 500 characters and his/her recent picture (optional). Pictures relevant to the article may also be sent (optional), provided they are not bound by copyright. Travelogues should be sent along with relevant pictures not sourced from the Internet. Travelogues without relevant pictures will be rejected.
  • In case of a short story / article, the write-up should be at least one-and-a-half pages in word document in Times New Roman font 12 (or, about 700-800 words). Contributors are requested to keep their write-ups limited to a maximum of four pages. Longer write-ups may be sent in parts to publish in installments. Each installment should be sent within a week of the previous installment. A single poem sent for publication should be at least 3/4th of a page in length. Multiple short poems may be submitted for single publication.
  • All submissions should be in Microsoft Word format or text file. Pictures should not be larger than 1000 pixels in width, and of good resolution. Pictures should be attached separately in the mail and may be numbered if the author wants them to be placed in order.
  • Submission of the article / poem / short story does not automatically entail that it would be published. Daijiworld editors will examine each submission and decide on its acceptance/rejection purely based on merit.
  • Daijiworld reserves the right to edit the submission if necessary for grammar and spelling, without compromising on the author's tone and message.
  • Daijiworld reserves the right to reject submissions without prior notice. Mails/calls on the status of the submission will not be entertained. Contributors are requested to be patient.
  • The article / poem / short story should not be targeted directly or indirectly at any individual/group/community. Daijiworld will not assume responsibility for factual errors in the submission.
  • Once accepted, the article / poem / short story will be published as and when we have space. Publication may take up to four weeks from the date of submission of the write-up, depending on the number of submissions we receive. No author will be published twice in succession or twice within a fortnight.
  • Time-bound articles (example, on Mother's Day) should be sent at least a week in advance. Please specify the occasion as well as the date on which you would like it published while sending the write-up.

Comment on this article

  • Ivan, Udupi, Canada

    Wed, Nov 23 2022

    Valerian, Madyantar, Black money will not be wiped out. It will become easier for black money holders (with ultra high level contacts) to make it white money. Once any money becomes e-money (digital currency) it is considered white. Then they can transfer to banks, make it paper currency, use it to pay voters or what ever......make sense?

  • ca girishkk, valencia/m'lore

    Mon, Nov 21 2022

    Valerian Crasta, Madyantar ..., Sir..., Suppose if virus attack, means along with black money normal balance also wiped out...!!!!, It gives enormous power to the regulators (& the govt of the day; specially with less educated leadership) to freeze the money for hear say, alleged suspicion, vendetta etc., making targeted general public totally paralyze from their economic empowerment. It is going to be a scarry situation..,

  • Tarika, Canada

    Mon, Nov 21 2022

    Informative article

  • Daniel, Mangalore

    Mon, Nov 21 2022

    More on Digital currencies, Communist chinese pushing their state control ideology, such as social credit system, using or pushing Digital Currency worldwide for their quest for financial world control, is the another question ? Sooner elite and communist chinese will have single One world digital currency (if world economy fails with their ongoing covid, wars..) then programmable chip in everyone's hand for their remote control (for disabling, conformity or enslavement,) containing all information, it is not surprising... Following recent news article on the epoch times by Katabella Roberts dated October 17, 2022... Central Bank Digital Currencies Would Let Governments Control What People Spend Money On: IMF Official //// The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) could potentially allow a government to control what people spend their hard-earned cash on. //// Speaking at the IMF-World Bank annual meeting on Oct. 15, Deputy Managing Director Bo Li said that a CBDC could improve “financial inclusion” through programmability. //// “A CBDC can allow government agencies and private sector players to program, to create smart contracts, to allow targeted policy functions,” Li explained. “For example, welfare payments, for example, consumption coupons, for example, food stamps.” //// “By programming CBDC, that money can be precisely targeted for what kind of people can own [CBDC] and for what kind of use this money can be utilized, for example for food.” //// Li, who stepped into the role of deputy managing director at the IMF on Aug. 23, 2021, added that by allowing the government to precisely target what people need, this will enable said government to “improve financial inclusion.” //// However, his comments were quick to garner a reaction from experts, including Nick Anthony, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives. //// Anthony wrote on Twitter that the IMF executive’s comments revealed how a CBDC would “allow the government to precisely control what people can and cannot spend their money on.” //// Prior to joining the IMF, Li worked for many years at the People’s Bank of China, according to the IMF’s official website. Ref: https://www.theepochtimes.com/central-bank-digital-currencies-would-let-governments-control-what-people-spend-money-on-imf-official_4800749.html

  • Daniel, Mangalore

    Mon, Nov 21 2022

    CBDCs By WEF elite and China ? Cashless communist chinese way of controlling the world by means of who buys, what, Communist state control of the world or enslaving most of humanity by elite and communist china as they did during covid ? An eye opener article at following link titled "Great Reset: World Economic Forum Pushes Cashless Society Central Bank Digital Currencies" "In its list, the Klaus Schwab-led group said that Central Bank Digitial Currencies (CBDCs) will “revolutionize the financial system” through “increasing financial inclusion and improving the lives of billions of people globally by providing access to cheap and affordable financial services.”... "China is not the only government that has realised that a digital currency issued by the state could vastly increase state power." Ref: https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2022/05/12/great-reset-world-economic-forum-pushes-cashless-society-central-bank-digital-currencies/

  • Valerian Crasta, Madyantar

    Mon, Nov 21 2022

    Thanks for your wonderful article. Black money will be wiped out.


Leave a Comment

Title: Welcome, ‘The Digital Rupee’!



You have 2000 characters left.

Disclaimer:

Please write your correct name and email address. Kindly do not post any personal, abusive, defamatory, infringing, obscene, indecent, discriminatory or unlawful or similar comments. Daijiworld.com will not be responsible for any defamatory message posted under this article.

Please note that sending false messages to insult, defame, intimidate, mislead or deceive people or to intentionally cause public disorder is punishable under law. It is obligatory on Daijiworld to provide the IP address and other details of senders of such comments, to the authority concerned upon request.

Hence, sending offensive comments using daijiworld will be purely at your own risk, and in no way will Daijiworld.com be held responsible.