Russian Central Bank to start pilot with real digital rubles on Aug 15

MOSCOW. Aug 9 (Interfax) - The Russian Central Bank will begin a pilot with real digital rubles on August 15, when, during its initial stage, customers will be able to open wallets, make transfers and pay for goods and services, Olga Skorobogatova, First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank, said at a press conference on Wednesday.

"The digital ruble really takes us to a new qualitative level in terms of our payment technologies in the country as a whole and enables us as a country to build cross-border payments, including with other countries, when they issue their own national digital currencies," she said.

"We have been preparing for a long time for the start of the pilot with real operations. It will begin on August 15, that is, in just a few days, and will primarily be based on testing active operations such as opening digital ruble wallets for banks, opening digital ruble wallets for clients, both individuals and legal entities, transfers in digital rubles between clients and payments in trade and service enterprises for goods and services using the digital ruble," Skorobogatova said.

Thirteen banks participating in the first stage of the pilot have carried out all preparatory activities, including development of mobile applications, Skorobogatova said, and are ready to begin operations with real clients on August 15.

She noted that the number of customers and the number of merchants at the first stage is limited. "This is done intentionally because we want to test the intricacies of the customer journey. We want to test the whole chain of interaction between banks and the Central Bank and back, we want to test and understand how comfortable individuals and legal entities feel when making payments with this new digital medium, and after that we we'll be prepared to expand the list of participants. We plan to do this as early as this year, not to delay, to expand the number of individuals and legal entities," Skorobogatova said.

At the same time, the Central Bank expects a second group of banks to join. "The second batch of banks, which proactively also expressed a desire to participate, includes 19 lenders, of which 16 of them are ready to proceed very quickly and to join the banks of the first group next year. And we are just now starting to work with them," the first deputy CBR chairman said.

"You will see the list of banks today that are participating in the pilot. If you are customers of these banks, you can apply after some time and become those who will be able to participate in the pilot at the next stages, when we will actively expand not only the list of participants, but also the list of operators," she also said.

The law on the introduction of the third form of national currency (digital ruble) in Russia entered into force on August 1. Earlier, the Central Bank said that in August it intends to launch a pilot with real digital rubles with participation of 13 banks.

The pilot will take place in several stages in 2023 and 2024. The first stage of testing will take place in Friends and family mode, and about 600 individuals will participate, according to Skorobogatova. They will test the opening and closing of digital wallets, their replenishment and transfers between individuals, automatic payments and transfers, as well as payments and refunds for goods and services with digital rubles via QR codes. Payment will be tested by 30 trade and service enterprises in 11 cities, which were selected in advance by banks and the regulator. At the next stages, the list of participants and tested operations will be expanded.

The introduction of the digital ruble into wide circulation is expected to begin gradually from 2025.