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(Kitco News) - The Bank of Russia (BoR) has announced that pilot testing for real transactions with the digital ruble will begin on August 15, and 13 banks have been selected to participate in the trial along with a limited number of their clients.
According to a statement released by the BoR on Wednesday, the start of pilot testing with real transactions represents “a critical state of this project” as it will allow the central bank “to test how the digital ruble platform operates in real-life conditions, check all necessary procedures with the participation of clients, adjust the processes where needed, and make sure that the customer journey is convenient and easy-to-understand for users.”
The pilot test will be rolled out on a stage-by-stage basis, allowing the central bank to slowly increase the level of strain put on the system to ensure that it is capable of handling the transaction throughput required to serve Russian citizens.
The initial stage will focus on refining basic processes, including the creation and funding of digital wallets, digital ruble transactions among individuals, simple automated bill payments, and the utilization of QR code-based payments for goods and services.
Once the various scenarios of digital ruble transactions have been tested and deemed successful, the BoR will start issuing the digital ruble for board public use.
“We assume that, beginning from 2025, both individuals and businesses will be able to actively use the national digital currency, of course, if they wish to,” said Olga Skorobogatova, First Deputy Governor of the Bank.
There will be 30 points of sale located in 11 Russian cities where pilot participants will be able to make payments using digital rubles. The BoR plans to expand the list of participants as the pilot progresses “by engaging both individuals and companies.”
In 2024, “the number of digital ruble transactions will increase to include dynamic QR code-based payments and business-to-business digital ruble transfers,” the BoR said. “The list of templates for simple automatic bill payments will be expanded as well.”
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| Russia's digital ruble faces tepid public response, Belarus to launch CBDC for cross-border payments |
With the release of the digital ruble to a select group of businesses and Russian citizens, Russia joins the ranks of countries leading the push to release a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for use by the general public.
China is currently the global leader when it comes to testing a CBDC, with the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) reporting that the digital yuan has been used to conduct 1.8 trillion yuan ($249.33 billion) worth of transactions as of the end of June. The pilot is ongoing in 17 provinces across the country, which includes 26 large cities and 5.6 million merchants. It is also supported by Alipay and WeChat Pay, two of China’s largest online payment platforms.
India has also launched a pilot project for both a retail and wholesale CBDC, and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is in discussions with central banks in at least 18 countries to establish cross-border payments using the digital rupee.
