The digital ruble may appear in circulation at the end of the year

Anatoly Aksakov, head of the Russian State Duma committee on the financial market, said that the digital ruble could appear in circulation as early as the end of 2022.

As he said in an interview with Duma TV, the Central Bank has prepared a prototype of the digital ruble and is launching piloting with the participation of more than 10 banks. “From the end of 2022, at least in 2023 for sure, the digital ruble will begin to appear in circulation,” Aksakov said.

In this regard, the deputies of the State Duma will have to amend the sectoral legislation, expand the powers of the Central Bank and change the law “On banks and banking activities.”

Earlier, the head of the Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina, said that the Bank of Russia does not have a super task to make the digital ruble the most popular form of money, but the advantages of this format will gradually become clear to the population. First of all, we are talking about the ability to access the wallet, regardless of the bank where the account is opened.

Secondly, for the digital ruble, according to Nabiullina, there will be more attractive tariffs at the level of the fast payment system. “Plus additional elements that may arise, offline payments where there is no Internet,” Nabiullina added.

Olga Skorobogatova, First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia, said that testing of the prototype of the digital ruble platform will begin in January 2022, in accordance with the concept published in the spring of 2021.

The digital ruble will be a new means of payment. A unique infrastructure will be formed for it. The Bank of Russia will develop a roadmap for the introduction of the digital ruble, which will take place in several stages.