CRED launches e₹ Wallet in collaboration with RBI & YES Bank

By Gloria Mathias

CRED has announced the launch of a beta version of its e₹ wallet, developed in collaboration with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and YES BANK as the sponsor bank.

This makes CRED one of the first FinTech platforms to implement RBI’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), advancing India’s sovereign digital currency vision. YES Bank’s role as the first sponsor bank to enable CBDC issuance for a Third Party Application Provider (TPAP) like CRED represents its commitment to driving innovation and supporting the future of digital payments.

The CRED e₹ wallet combines the trust and safety of a sovereign currency with the frictionless CRED payments experience. CRED members whitelisted for the beta can pay UPI-linked bank accounts and send/receive money to other CBDC wallets.

After completing video KYC, users can create and load their e₹ wallets via UPI. The wallet supports transactions up to INR 10,000 per transfer (₹50,000 daily limit) and storage up to INR 1 lakh, with zero-cost merchant transactions. Future updates will enable programmable merchant payments, CRED Pay integration, and PIN-less transactions.

Kunal Shah, Founder of CRED, said, “The e₹ wallet is a milestone in India’s financial evolution. With the support of the RBI, we’re enabling the creditworthy to shape the future of digital currency in the world’s fastest-growing economy. Our goal is to make e₹ transactions frictionless and drive its adoption among the most creditworthy Indians.”

This initiative by the RBI, along with CRED, will catalyse India’s economic vision. It will reduce cash in circulation, drive financial inclusion and digital adoption, and strengthen India’s leadership in global digital finance.

In April 2024, the RBI, in its monetary policy document, proposed to make CBDC Retail accessible to a broader segment of users in a sustained manner by enabling non-bank payment system operators to offer CBDC wallets. In this, the RBI said, “This is expected to enhance access and expand choices available to users apart from testing the resiliency of the CBDC platform to handle multi-channel transactions.”

Acting as the sponsor bank, YES BANK facilitates the issuance of CBDC tokens from RBI to CRED, a Non-Banking Payment Service Operator (NBPSO).

Prashant Kumar, Managing Director & CEO of YES BANK, shared, “YES BANK is proud to partner with CRED in this pioneering venture under RBI’s guidance. As the sponsor bank, we are committed to enabling secure and efficient integration of the e-rupee wallet, setting new benchmarks for digital payments in India.”