Elvira Nabiullina, the Governor of the Bank of Russia, confirmed its central bank digital currency (CBDC) is on track for a mass rollout in July 2025. However, we previously reported that a second wave of banks started to onboard to the digital ruble pilot in January 2024, but it turns out this has not yet happened. Russia’s largest bank Sber was amongst the second group, so presumably it is not yet part of the pilot.
In September the central bank relaxed some restrictions for the pilot. The participant limit has increased from 600 to 9,000 and the number of merchants from 22 to 1,200. The second wave of 20 banks are still in the process of onboarding.
By July 2025 the largest banks will be obligated to support the digital ruble. So, they have to open and top up digital ruble accounts, make transfers and accept digital rubles.
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