Are you up for the Digital Rupee? You have up till June 16 to give your views

The Bank of Mauritius (BoM) has released a Public Consultation Paper seeking public feedback on the potential issuance of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) called the Digital Rupee.

The purpose of the consultation is to gather views from the public regarding the design and introduction of the Digital Rupee.

The CBDC is intended to complement traditional cash and offer innovative payment options. The BoM said the Digital Rupee will not be considered a crypto asset and will maintain a fixed value equivalent to physical currency.

It is exploring a distribution model where commercial banks will distribute the Digital Rupee to their customers, while the BoM itself will not have access to users’ transaction information.

The proposed design features include offline capability, accessibility, availability, programmability for specific purposes, privacy and data protection, and interest-free usage.

The consultation period ends on 16 June 2023.

The BoM stands as the first Central Bank to have benefitted from technical assistance from the IMF in this field.

The BoM said it has also availed itself of guidance from peer central banks and international organisations focusing on digital currency.

Governor Harvesh Seegolam announced on April 26 2023 that the BoM is envisaging the rolling out of the Digital Rupee on a pilot phase, post the sandboxing exercise and finalisation of design attributes of the Digital Rupee, in November 2023.

Source: Bank of Mauritius