Banks in Russia are preparing to dive into the pilot phase of the digital ruble project and some are already testing transactions with the currency. Trials have begun with customer-to-customer (C2C) payments and Bank of Russia plans to expand the types of operations in the future.
Digital Ruble Pilot Launches With 12 Participating Banks
The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) completed the prototype of the digital ruble platform in December and is now starting to experiment with transactions. A dozen banks have been invited to participate in the first phase of the pilot phase of the project. The monetary authority plans to gradually expand the participants limit to include other financial service providers and types of transactions.
Right now, most Russian banks are gearing up to begin testing the new central bank digital currency (CBDC), Tass reported after contacting institutions. One of them, Promsvyazbank (PSB), is currently processing C2C payments, Maxim Khrustalev, an advisor to the bank’s deputy chairman, told the news agency.
After the customer-to-customer transaction, “technical testing of C2B, B2C and B2B payments will begin. Based on the results of the pilot, the Bank of Russia will begin to introduce the digital ruble platform into commercial operation,” Khrustalev said.
Tinkoff Bank is also joining efforts to test a new, digital form of Russian fiat. According to a statement from Neobank online, “Tinkoff is preparing to conduct digital ruble operations in the near future.” Tinkoff recently entered the crypto space by acquiring a controlling stake in Swiss-registered fintech startup Ximetria.
Another major Russian bank, VTB, said its infrastructure is ready to pilot the digital ruble. “Piloting includes integration with the Digital Ruble platform and the introduction of services such as wallet opening via mobile applications and digital ruble transfer between individuals,” elaborated the bank’s press office.
According to Vitaly Kopsov, Chief Innovation Officer of SKB-Bank, the digital ruble will become a driver for the development of new national payment services for both citizens and companies. Speaking with Tas, he elaborated:
The digital ruble will give an additional impetus to the creation of offline cashless payment services for businesses in the absence of Internet access at one point of sale, which is very important given the geography of the Russian Federation.
Russia’s central bank has maintained a tough stance on cryptocurrencies and recently proposed a broad ban on crypto-related activities. It began considering a digital ruble three years ago and decided to explore CBDC issuance options in 2020, when it published a consultation paper on the matter. In April 2021, the bank released a digital ruble concept outlining its key architecture.
Other banks participating in the first phase of the pilot are AK Bars, Alfa-Bank, Dom.RF Bank, Gazprombank, Rosbank, Sberbank, Bank Soyuz and TransCapitalBank. The Federal Treasury, along with financial intermediaries, will be involved in the second phase when transacting between private individuals and corporate entities, including consumer-to-business (С2B), business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-business Huh. -Government (B2G) transactions.
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