The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has identified eight banks for the phase-wise pilot launch of the retail digital rupee. Four banks including State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank, YES Bank, and IDFC First Bank are taking part in the first phase of the pilot programme while Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank, and Kotal Mahindra Bank will join the pilot in the second phase.

The pilot will initially cover four cities — Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, and Bhubaneswar. It will later extend to Ahmedabad, Gangtok, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Kochi, Lucknow, Patna, and Shimla.