Bank of Russia: Smaller banks see more opportunities in the digital ruble than drawbacks

The launch of the digital ruble is aimed at increasing the accessibility and convenience of payment services, as well as reducing the cost of services, said Olga Skorobogatova, First Deputy Chairman of the Bank of Russia, in an interview with «Ъ».

The regulator does not seek to increase the share of cashless payments, since it is already sufficiently high.

Skorobogatova again stressed that the digital ruble will be an additional form of money.

«The Bank of Russia’s platform will provide identical conditions for all citizens and for businesses in terms of tariffs, identical conditions in terms of transfer times, and no limits on the amounts held in wallets», she said.

The deputy chair noted that three-quarters of banks consider the regulator’s proposed digital ruble model to be the most rational and promising, despite their concerns at the outset of the project:

«During our discussions, small and medium-sized banks said they saw more opportunities in the digital ruble than drawbacks. They will finally have the chance to compete and offer clients other services, not just payments monopolised by certain market participants».

Earlier, the Bank of Russia to create a prototype of the digital ruble by the end of 2021. The government confirmed plans to launch the asset as a third form of money by 2030.

In June the Bank of Russia reported forming the first pilot group of 12 banks for testing the digital ruble.

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