Bank of Russia Considers Unified App for Digital Ruble

The Bank of Russia has received a proposal from the ARB to develop a unified mobile application for digital ruble transactions, aiming to reduce infrastructure costs for the new national currency. This was reported by Vedomosti. 

The digital ruble is planned to be mandatory for implementation in all banks: those with a universal license by July 1, 2026, and those with a basic license by July 1, 2027.

According to experts from the Association, medium and small banks are concerned about the software development costs for implementing CBDC in their systems, estimated at 85-150 million rubles, which is “disproportionate to the scale of their business.” 

In addition to the unified application, the ARB recommended establishing certification centers based on the Central Bank or a single operator, allowing banks to connect to the common platform with minimal costs and effort.

The Central Bank expressed its willingness to consider this market initiative. Furthermore, the regulator intends to provide participants of the digital ruble platform with specialized software for cryptographic operations free of charge. 

The law on the national digital currency came into effect on August 1, 2023. The Bank of Russia has set requirements for banks regarding information security for digital ruble transactions and established tariffs for them.

At the end of October 2024, experts estimated that commercial banks would need investments ranging from 120 million to over 200 million rubles to connect to the national digital currency platform.

Meanwhile, the majority of Russians are not interested in using the tool, according to a survey.