According to a new report from Reuters which cites six sources familiar with the matter, the Reserve Bank of India is looking to popularize its new central bank digital currency (CBDC), the so-called e-rupee, by working with banks to introduce new features.

Currently there are an average of about 18,000 retail CBDC transactions per day, which is a number far short of the regulator’s goal of seeing one million per day by the end of 2023.

The new features will include allowing customers to perform transactions with digital rupees while they are offline and allowing usage of digital rupees with the popular Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

The UPI allows users to transfer money across different banks using an instant real-time payments system which does not disclose any bank account details.

The sources for the report declined to be identified, as they did not have clearance to talk to the media.

Two of the sources noted that the RBI has been pressuring banks to make the e-rupee able to be used with the UPI through the use of a QR code.

They noted that interoperability would allow payments to be delivered through already well-distributed QR codes.

The capability, which was first announced in June is now active at large banks, including the State Bank of India, the largest lender in the nation.

Sharat Chandra, co-founder of India Blockchain Forum, an industry collective said, “Interoperability of UPI QR Code with digital rupee will remove friction … but this will not drive adoption unless CBDC payments are incentivized.”

Two sources who are involved in the pilot project also noted that the RBI and lenders are looking at ways to allow the use of the e-rupee while the customer and the merchant are offline.

Although the RBI is looking over various proposals for new technologies to incorporate into the project, they have not approved any of them officially, according to one source.

Two other sources said that HFDC Bank, one of the top private lenders in the country, is working with technology firm IDEMIA on a system for utilizing e-rupees in offline transactions with feature phones.

Akhil Handa, a top executive at Bank of Baroda said, “As new features get added, a gradual pickup in retail CBDC transaction volumes will follow.”