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CCAvenue, the payment gateway business of Infibeam Avenues Ltd, said it is facilitating the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) or Digital Rupee transactions for private sector banks, and will soon be able to process CBDC transactions for online retail payments.

The company claims to be the first payment gateway player to process Digital Rupee transactions for online retail merchants. In a filing with the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the firm said it is working with many banks to offer them the payment infrastructure and technology to roll out CBDC.

“We have the necessary processes and compliance in place to quickly onboard and instantly activate new merchants,” said Vishal Mehta, Managing Director, Infibeam Avenues Limited.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has identified eight banks for phase-wised participation in the retail pilot project for CBDC. The first phase includes four banks, namely State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank, Yes Bank, and IDFC First Bank. Livemint had previously reported that the company was working with IDFC First Bank to roll out CBDC on its platform. 

Transactions using the retail CBDC can be both person-to-person and person-to-merchant, and payments can be made using QR codes shown at merchant locations.

Infibeam Avenues had recently received RBI approval to act as an operating unit under the Bharat Bill Pay license and Payment Aggregator license.

Founded in 2007 by Vishal Mehta and Vishwas Patel, Infibeam provides ecommerce and digital payment solutions to merchants, enterprises, corporations, and governments to enable online commerce. 

The core payment gateway business, CCAvenue offers over 200 payment options to the merchants, allowing them to accept payments through the website and mobile devices in 27 currencies. Last year, the company launched an omnichannel CCAvenue mobile app that allows businesses and entrepreneurs to convert any NFC-enabled Android phone into smart PoS terminals.