Russia to roll out CBDC pilot with real consumers in April

Russia’s central bank is preparing to launch the first consumer pilot for the digital ruble in collaboration with 13 local banks.

The Bank of Russia is preparing to roll out the first consumer pilot for the nation’s central bank digital currency (CDBC) on April 1, 2023.

The central bank of Russia is set to debut soon the first real-world digital ruble transactions involving 13 local banks and several merchants, first deputy governor Olga Skorobogatova said.

The official noted that the upcoming CBDC pilot will involve real operations and real consumers in Russia, but will be limited to a certain number of transactions and customers, the local news agency TASS reported.

“We plan to launch the digital ruble project on April 1, with transactions involving individual transfers as well as payments in trade and service enterprises,” Skorobogatova stated at the Ural Forum Cybersecurity in Finance. She added that the banks participating in the pilot have technically confirmed their readiness to start testing the digital ruble.

The deputy governor clarified that general customers will not be able to take part in the pilot in the first stage, as the banks are going to enter the pilot with chosen customers. Following the first pilot stage, the Bank of Russia is planning to determine how to further scale the digital ruble, Skorobogatova stated.

The latest announcement by Skorobogatova follows the roadmap of the digital ruble rollout that the officially introduced in June 2022. Initially scheduled for 2024, the consumer CBDC pilot was moved to an earlier date as the Russian central bank was looking for an alternative to SWIFT amid Western economic sanctions against Russia.

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The news comes amid some Russian officials claiming that the Bank of Russia is considering a potential gold-backed token targeting cross-border transactions. Bank of Russia’s first deputy governor Vladimir Chistyukhin believes that such a “golden token” will help Russia not only create a new attractive investment product but also build a demanded payment method in international settlement.