The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will run pilot programs on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in collaboration with the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates. The RBI and the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Abu Dhabi to explore interoperability between the CBDCs of the two countries.
India has been testing a retail CBDC in 15 cities since Nov. 2022 and will expand trials. In Dec. 2022, India launched a wholesale CBDC pilot to test the consensus of secondary market transactions in government bonds. Last month, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates announced plans to launch a CBDC alongside blockchain-related initiatives as a part of its efforts to become a financial and digital payment hub.
