Bank of Russia expands CBDC pilot

The Bank of Russia said on August 30 that it was expanding its central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot programme.

The bank said the new phase, which started on September 1, would involve “up to 9,000 people and 1,200 companies” – a marked increase on the 600 people and 22 firms that took part in the previous stage.

It said the latest phase would enable dynamic QR code payments and business-to-business transfers. It added that testers had already been able to deposit money into CBDC accounts, transfer funds between each other, pay for goods and services, and sign “smart contracts” to make simple automatic payments.

The digital ruble will be available to customers of the 12 banks that have been taking part in the pilot since its launch last August. The central bank said it was planning to expand this list.

Russian president Vladimir Putin on July 17 had called for further adoption of the digital ruble, news agency Tass reported. “Now we need to take the next step, namely to move to a broader, full-scale implementation of the digital ruble in the economy, in economic activity and in the field of finance,” he said. He added that more than 30,000 transactions using the CBDC had been completed.

It expanded the programme in February to cover more banks that were already subject to US sanctions. These included Sberbank, Russian Standard Bank, Expobank and the country’s leading online bank, Tinkoff.

When the bank first announced plans for the CBDC in August 2022, it said it intended to connect it to digital currencies in other “friendly countries”, hinting at China’s digital yuan. Doing so would remove the need for Russia to use the Swift payments system and ease some of the pressure from sanctions.

The bank said individuals could use the digital ruble for free, and that businesses would be charged 0.3% for each payment they took.