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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday proposed to introduce a framework for carrying out retail digital payments in offline mode across the country.

In common parlance this means introduction of facility where digital transactions could be carried out even in situations where the Internet connectivity is low / not available (offline mode).

In his virtual address post-MPC meeting, RBI Governor said that the pilot of this innovative technology facilitating digital payments in offline mode has been successful and the learnings indicate that there is a scope to introduce such solutions, especially in remote areas.

The RBI's Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies dated August 6, 2020 had announced a scheme to conduct pilot tests of innovative technology that enables retail digital payments even in situations where the Internet connectivity is low / not available (offline mode).

Three pilots were successfully conducted under the Scheme in different parts of the country during the period from September 2020 to June 2021 involving small-value transactions covering a volume of 2.41 lakh for value Rs 1.16 crore.

Given the experience gained from the pilots and the encouraging feedback, RBI had now proposed to introduce a framework for carrying out retail digital payments in offline mode across the country. Detailed guidelines will be issued in due course.