India’s attempt to boost the role of the rupee in cross-border payments has not been successful, say insiders. While the Reserve Bank of India has allowed more than a dozen banks to settle trades in rupees with 18 countries since 2019, and has encouraged big oil exporters such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia to South Asian nations to accept the Indian currency for trade settlements, total local currency trade volumes have remained negligible at around INR10bn ($120m).