From Ledger Insights

Russia’s largest bank Sber has finally joined the digital ruble pilot along with the largest digital bank TBank (formerly Tinkoff) and Tochka Bank, according to a report from news agency Interfax. Sber was excluded from the first group of banks piloting the central bank digital currency (CBDC) which started in August 2023. A second group of 17 banks was scheduled to join the initial 13 institutions a year ago. That delay is critical given a new Bill submitted to the State Duma confirms the planned launch date of July 2025, despite concerns from banks and retailers that the timeframe is aggressive.

It could be a coincidence, but the central bank architect of the CBDC, Olga Skorobogatova, submitted her resignation in November, with pushback from retailers and banks following the announcement.

Despite the objections of banks and retailers, the Bill confirms the schedule outlined by the Bank of Russia three months ago. Large banks will go live in July 2025, with other banks following a year later and non bank credit institutions in July 2027. The largest retailers need to accept the digital ruble starting July 2025, with business with a turnover of 20 to 30 million rubles ($180,000 – $270,000) having an additional year, and smaller retailers going live mid 2027.

What’s the rush for the digital ruble?

While the initial launch targets domestic payments, it’s likely that the rush relates to international usage to address sanctions. Putin himself expressed the need to speed up progress with the CBDC. Plus, there’s Russia’s leadership of the BRICS initiative on cross border digital payments. Having a production CBDC will give the country far more credibility and will help to accelerate usage for cross border payments.

On the topic of sanctions, despite an initial reluctance from the central bank, Russian law now supports the usage of cryptocurrencies for cross border payments. In related news, last week Russia’s finance minister, Anton Siluanov, confirmed the first usage of cryptocurrencies with the expectation of expanding it this year.