Digital Rupee Pilot Hits 12 Million Users, 175 Million Transactions as RBI Expands Global Rupee Trade

India is continuing efforts to increase the use of the rupee in international trade and payments. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra outlined the progress during the Financial Congress in St Petersburg, Russia, on July 2, 2026, according to a CNBC TV18 report.

He highlighted bilateral arrangements aimed at promoting local currency settlements between India and partner countries. The governor also shared updated figures on the RBI's central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot, which has seen significant growth in adoption and transaction volumes.

RBI Rupee Internationalisation Strategy and Global Partnerships

Speaking at the Financial Congress, Malhotra said the RBI has signed memoranda of understanding with multiple countries to encourage trade settlements in local currencies. Under these arrangements, transactions can be conducted using the rupee on the Indian side and the respective local currency of the partner country.

The initiative is designed to facilitate cross-border trade without relying exclusively on widely used convertible currencies. According to the RBI, these efforts form part of a broader strategy to expand the international role of the rupee.

Digital Rupee Pilot Reaches 12 Million Users

The RBI governor said that the digital rupee pilot remains in the testing phase but has achieved notable scale. The CBDC programme has now reached 12 million users since its launch.

In addition, more than 175 million transactions have been processed through the pilot. The total value of these transactions is close to ₹400 billion, demonstrating increasing participation in the RBI's digital currency experiment.

INR Trade Settlement Growth Since July 2022

The RBI's Annual Report 2025–26 highlighted a substantial increase in INR-based trade settlement over recent years. Between August 2022 and July 2025, imports invoiced in rupees recorded a compound annual growth rate of 20.9%.

During the same period, exports invoiced in rupees grew at a compound annual growth rate of 12.7%. The data indicates that businesses are gradually adopting the rupee as a settlement currency for international trade transactions.

Rupee Trade Invoicing Data in FY26

The RBI reported higher absolute values for trade invoicing in rupees during FY26 compared with FY25. Import invoicing in rupees increased to ₹2.85 lakh crore in FY26 from ₹2.60 lakh crore in FY25.

Export invoicing rose to ₹3.27 lakh crore from ₹3.07 lakh crore over the same period. The central bank stated that the growing use of the rupee has also encouraged greater invoicing in other emerging market currencies across global trade networks.

Read More: RBI Projects Banks' Bad Loans to Edge Up to 1.9% by FY28.

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Conclusion

The RBI continues to pursue the internationalisation of the rupee through local currency settlement arrangements with partner nations. Recent data shows steady growth in rupee-denominated import and export invoicing, reflecting broader adoption in cross-border trade.

At the same time, the digital rupee pilot has expanded significantly, reaching 12 million users and processing over 175 million transactions. While the RBI noted that the rupee faced depreciation pressure during FY26 amid global trade uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and foreign portfolio investor outflows, the overall use of the currency in trade settlements continues to increase.

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