Seven more banks to join testing of the digital ruble

Seven banks will connect to testing of the digital ruble platform in the coming months. This was заявила the head of the Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina.

According to her, financial institutions are currently completing the preparation of their IT systems.

The prototype launch of the platform состоялся in January 2022 with the participation of five banks. Together with the regulator, they tested the issuance of digital rubles, opening of digital wallets, as well as переводы между гражданами.

In total, the new instrument will be tested by 12 банков — Sberbank, VTB, Gazprombank, Alfa-Bank, Dom.RF, Rosbank, Promsvyazbank, Tinkoff Bank, SKB Bank, Ak Bars Bank, Transkapitalbank and Soyuz.

The second stage of platform testing is expected осенью 2022 года. It involves conducting operations for payments of goods and services, as well as government payments. In addition, the Bank of Russia plans to test the interaction with the federal treasury and implement smart contracts.

The government has said the digital ruble will be launched as the third form of money к 2030 году.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent Western reaction, The New York Times suggested that Russian companies could use the цифровой рубль для обхода санкций.

Earlier, State Duma deputy Sergei Mironov proposed making the domestic CBDC резервной валютой.

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