CBDC will transform cross-border payments, says Bank of Baroda MD & CEO

The central bank digital currency (CBDC) could be the real game changer as it would simplify border settlements, reduce workforce needs, and increase efficiency, Debadatta Chand, MD and CEO of Bank of Baroda (BoB) said at Global Fintech Fest.

 

“BoB is currently anchoring CBDC initiatives in collaboration with the Reserve Bank of India,” he said. RBI is currently conducting pilot projects on CBDC.

 

As of March-end 2025, the pilot in the CBDC retail segment was expanded to 17 banks and 6 million users since its inception in December 2022.

 

BoB is driving financial inclusion at scale with over 45,000 business correspondents (BCs) and 750 million Jan Dhan accounts, holding ₹44,000 crore in deposits. He said that the market share of BCs may be 6 per cent but in Jan Dhan, the share is 18 per cent.

 

Chand believes that in some years, people will entirely move to online mode for small-ticket personal transactions. 

 

The public sector lender has over 25 active fintech partnerships and more than 100 digital integrations across platforms. Chand emphasised that these partnerships have paid “the right dividend” and remain a core part of the bank’s digital growth strategy.

 

To further this vision, the bank has activated a subsidiary named BST (Baroda Sun Technologies), which operates like a fintech entity. This unit will focus on emerging technologies, payments innovation, and application development, freeing the bank’s core IT infrastructure to focus on stability and scale.

 

BoB is also betting on super apps-- Bob World for existing customers, and BoB epay which competes in the open UPI ecosystem and can acquire both customers and non-customers-- a significant shift in approach for a public sector lender.

 

“We strongly believe these collaborative efforts have given the right dividend for us and will continue with the fintech partnership. At the same time, we activated a company called BST as Borders Entrepreneurship. This will behave as a fintech company,” Chand said.

 

On the ESG front, the public sector lender has created a renewable sector book on the lending side of more than USD 3 billion in the last three years.

 

The bank has rolled out an ESG-specific logo, a public ESG policy, and committed to becoming net zero by 2057, which will be the bank’s 150th foundation year.

 

Other goals include 75 per cent reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2034. The public sector lender has launched ‘Bob Forest’ in Mumbai’s BKC, featuring 100 species of flora to promote urban greening and transition to paperless internal processes.

 

“We’ve started documenting all ESG efforts in numbers, and we’ve been rated strong on ESG by external agencies,” Chand added.