The Financial institution of Russia (BoR) has announced that it will begin utilizing digital rubles for the challenge’s operational testing section of Russia’s central financial institution digital currency (CBDC) less than a month after Vladimir Putin signed the digital rubles bill into legislation. On August 15, the testing will commence.
According to a press release issued by the Bank of Russia, 13 banks and a small number of their customers will take part in the pilot tests.
Olga Skorobogatova, the first deputy governor of the Russian Central Bank, stated that the project’s critical stage will be the start of trial operations utilizing exact digital rubles.
This step makes it easier to evaluate the operation of the digital ruble platform in a commercial setting, fine-tune key procedures in consultation with customers, consider future course of improvements, and provide a user-friendly and understandable consumer experience.
CBDC will become fully functioning by 2025.
According to Skorobogatova, the bank’s strategy is to launch the digital ruble into broad usage based largely on the outcomes of incremental testing and subject to the successful completion of extensive trials covering all potential operational uses for the digital ruble. The deputy governor admitted that it is envisaged that beginning in 2025, individuals and organizations would be able to actively employ the national digital currency on their own initiative.
According to the announcement, the pilot program’s first stage will consider streamlining basic procedures such as the creation and funding of digital ruble accounts (also known as digital wallets), digital ruble transfers between individuals, simple automated funds, and the use of QR codes for transactions involving goods and services.
Participants in the test program will be able to utilize digital rubles to make purchases at 30 retail locations spread across 11 Russian cities. It is planned to increase the number of pilot participants to include both individuals and businesses by the end of 2023.
According to the announcement, the pilot program’s first stage will consider streamlining basic procedures such as the creation and funding of digital ruble accounts (also known as digital wallets), digital ruble transfers between individuals, simple automated funds, and the use of QR codes for transactions involving goods and services.
Participants in the test program will be able to utilize digital rubles to make purchases at 30 retail locations spread across 11 Russian cities. It is planned to increase the number of pilot participants to include both individuals and businesses by the end of 2023.
