UCO Bank receives RBI approval to join Central Bank Digital Currency initiative

Ashwani Kumar, MD & CEO UCO Bank

Public sector lender UCO Bank has received approval to join the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), announced Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Ashwani Kumar while addressing the media on November 3.

"We received approval from the RBI to onboard UCO Bank for CBDC two days ago. We are in talks with NPCI for further work, and some more work needs to be done," Kumar replied to Moneycontrol's question.

Earlier, on August 1, when speaking with Moneycontrol, the MD & CEO of the bank stated that they would participate in the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot project by September 2023.

"Yes, we will be joining the RBI's CBDC pilot project by the end of September. Initially, we will only be involved in the retail segment. Later on, as we explore opportunities, we will consider other segments," said Kumar.

On October 19, RBI Executive Director Ajay Kumar Choudhary said that the central bank has started a wholesale pilot of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in the call money market.

“It (the wholesale pilot of CBDC) has started, but volumes are not pretty well (are not high) as it is a test of the system, accounting and multiple things, and the pilot is to test all those things,” Choudhary said on the sidelines of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India' 18th Annual Summit & Awards, Banking & Financial Sector Lending Companies.