Explained: Difference Between e-RUPEE and e-RUPI

In an attempt of making India fully digital, the government has launched E-RUPEE and E-RUPI. But there seems to be a lot of confusion regarding these two terms in the public. Some people are assuming and think that eRUPI and eRUPEE are the same. While some believe that they are different from each other but still have blurry vision. So if you are also one of those people who are confused then do not worry as we got your back and this article is for you! In this article, we will be discussing the two terms e RUPI and e RUPEE in the simplest form so that it will become easy for you to understand. So make sure that you read this article carefully till the very end to understand the difference between e RUPI and e RUPI. 

First things first, e RUPI and e RUPEE are not the same. They are different from one another. The e RUPI is a payment solution while the eRUPEE is the digital currency in the form of digital currency notes. So now that you know these two are different concepts let us move ahead with understanding each of these terms separately so that we can understand the difference between E RUPI and E RUPEE better. 

What is exactly an eRUPI?

The eRUPI was launched by our government in the year 2021. It is a digital payment solution. The eRUPI acts as an instrument for making digital payments. So to explain this further e RUPI is in the form of a digital voucher that you receive on your phone with the help of an SMS or QR code. This voucher is a pre-paid voucher that you can easily redeem at any time you want. But you can only redeem this voucher at some specific centers. So you first have to make sure if the e-RUPI is accepted or not. 

Now let us take a real-life example to understand this better. So if your company wants to cover a certain medical expense of an employee then they will issue a voucher of the specific amount required at the specific hospital. This will be done via a partner bank. So there will be a bank that will act as an intermediary. So now the employee will just have to go to that specific hospital and do the payment with the voucher that has been issued. Now, these vouchers are already paid for as they are pre-paid ones. But you have to remember that you can redeem the voucher at that specific hospital only. So now that you must have understood the E RUPI concept, to further break it down e RUPI is a pre-paid voucher that is digital, contactless, and also a one-time mode of payment. 

The best part about the E RUPI is that you do not need any mobile banking app or internet banking as this voucher is through an SMS or a QR code. So you can simply redeem this voucher without a card, app, or even internet banking access. The government has taken this step to make digital payments easier. But you have to note that these vouchers will not be accepted everywhere. The pre-paid issued E RUPI vouchers will only be accepted at the specified centers. And the amount will also remain specific. So you can not redeem it just anywhere. So E RUPI is a person specific and also an event or purpose-specific voucher.

How is the E RUPI different from the UPI or Mobile Banking? 

Now you must be wondering that e RUPI sounds exactly like UPI so it is similar to UPI? No. E RUPI is not similar to UPI. Let’s understand this more clearly. The E RUPI is different from UPI as it does not require any individual handler or even any bank to process the payment. So the E RUPI is in the form of an SMS or a QR code. Whereas on the other hand, UPI requires an app. Here in E RUPI, the payments are made faster and the best part is since the vouchers are in the form of an SMS and QR code you do not even require internet access. This makes the process even simpler and hassle-free. So now that you have understood the difference between E RUPI and UPI do not get confused between the two. 

What is exactly an E RUPEE?

The E RUPEE is just like the cash that we use but in a digital form. So you will have a digital wallet and digital notes just like we have physical notes. The E RUPEE is our country’s very own Central Bank Digital Currency which is CBDC. The E RUPEE is managed by the Reserve Bank of India. Since the E RUPEE is managed by the Reserve Bank of India, you will be easily able to convert this CBDC which is the E RUPEE (digital currency) into a physical currency as in physical notes. The denominations that are available in the physical currency will also be available in the form of digital currency. So now we have come to a point where we do not even need to carry a wallet anymore. Launching the E RUPEE will be India’s biggest step to becoming a completely digital nation. 

The denomination of notes that will be available in the form of digital currency is Rs. 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, and 2000. Not only notes but coins are also available in the form of digital coins with physically available denominations. But you have to note that there will be a limit to the amount that you can have in your e-wallet. So whenever you want to buy something you do not need physical cash, you can simply pay through the digital notes available in your e-wallet. 

To understand this better let us assume that you have Rs. 100 in your e-wallet. Now just like you can have different denominations of notes and coins which add up to Rs 100 in the physical form, similarly, you will have different denominations of notes and coins which eventually adds up to Rs 100. So in this case, for Rs 100 

• You might have two fifty rupee digital notes in your e-wallet. 
• You can have two ten-rupee notes and four twenty-rupee digital notes in your e-wallet. 

So such combinations of different denominations will be available. Now if you buy something and if you have to pay any merchant that accepts e RUPEE, you will get an option to choose the notes. So you can choose notes of different denominations just like you do while paying in cash using physical notes. So this is how the E RUPEE works. 

Key differences between e-RUPEE and e-RUPI

Now that we have covered what E RUPI and E RUPEE is and we have broken it down for you to understand better. So now let us discuss the distinguishing factor between E RUPI and E RUPEE. 

1. The E RUPI is a payment solution where as the E RUPEE is India’s very own digital currency or CBDC.
2. The E RUPI is a digital voucher in the form of an SMS or QR code. On the other hand, the E RUPEE is the digital notes available in the same denomination as the physical notes. The E RUPEE is exactly similar to the physical cash that we use, the only difference is that these notes are in digital form.
3. The E RUPI is managed by the National Payments Corporation of India which is the NPCI where as the E RUPEE is managed by the Reserve Bank of India. 
4. The E RUPI was launched in August in the year 2021. On the other hand, the E RUPEE was launched and the pilot was started in December in the year 2022. So the E RUPI was started before the E RUPEE.
5. The major use for which E RUPI was launched was to enable a leak-proof delivery mechanism for the government direct benefit transfer DBT programs. Where on the other hand the major reason why the E RUPEE was launched was to provide an additional option in the form of digital currency to the currently available physical currency. 

So these are the major point of difference between the E RUPI and the E RUPEE. So now that we have covered everything about the E RUPI and the E RUPEE we hope that you have clearly understood the two concepts. And now your confusion between the E RUPI and the E RUPEE must be clear. So we hope that since now you know the differences between the E RUPI and the E RUPEE you can take advantage of them and help our nation to become a fully digital country!