PayPal-backed startup Mintoak makes India's first e-rupee deal worth $3.5 million: Report

PayPal and HDFC Bank-backed Indian startup Mintoak, a merchant payment services provider, has bought Digiledge, which specialises in Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and bill payments services, making it India's first e-rupee related deal.

This deal worth around $3.5 million marks the first major acquisition in the nascent CBDC space, according to a report by news agency Reuters.

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In December 2022, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had started a pilot for the CBDC, also known as the e-rupee; Basically a digital alternative to physical currency.

In April last year, it then expanded the scope of transactions to payment firms from originally having it limited to just banks.

Cred and MobiKwik then became the first fintech platforms to give customers access to the CBDC. This happened in January 2025.

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The Mumbai-based Mintoak said that the deal will enable its partners like HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and SBI to offer more comprehensive CBDC-related payment services for their clients.

"By adding Digiledge's bill payments and CBDC capabilities, we are making it easier for merchant acquirers to grow and help more small and medium enterprises access digital tools and financial services," the report quoted Mintoak CEO Raman Khanduja as having said.

Meanwhile, Alphabet Inc's Google Pay, Walmart-backed PhonePe, as well as Amazon Pay are also seeking to join the pilot, news agency Reuters had reported in August 2024.

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Yet another Reuters report revealed that close to a third of central banks worldwide have actually pushed back plans to launch digital versions of their currencies.

However, this also means that a majority of them still intend to go ahead with it due to a desire to protect their money-minting powers.