Mumbai, March 6 -- Instant money transfers between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) may be a reality soon with the central banks of both countries working to link their sovereign digital currencies, a person familiar with the development said. The move is significant since the UAE, home to more than four million Indians, is among the top sources of remittances to India. Unlike regular money transfers mediated by banks, transactions in central bank digital currency (CBDC) happen in a flash, because the money moves directly from wallet to wallet. Retail transactions as well as large-value transactions are expected to benefit from such a linkage. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been piloting its CBDC, e-Rupee, for over 3 years and is exploring foreign linkages to speed cross-border fund flows. "Take the example of a fintech that is present on both sides. When a user wants to send money, that fintech can debit the rupee CBDC account of the customer and transfer it to UAE," the person cited above said on the condition of anonymity. Over eight million Indians currently use the e-Rupee, with total transactions of 120 million valued at Rs.28,000 crore since its 2022 launch, central bank data till December showed....