According to a recent survey conducted by the collaboration of Saint Petersburg Exchange and Russia’s Trading System (RTS), over half of Russian citizens are willing to store their money using the central bank digital currency (CBDC). However, when it comes to storing more than 20,000 rubles (about $212), only 17% trust the digital ruble.
The survey involved more than 2,000 respondents across the country aged 18-65, and its results were published in the local newspaper Izvestia on August 24. According to the report, theoretically, 58.3% of respondents are ready to invest their money in CBDC.
However, the majority of them (23.8%) would only transfer amounts ranging from 5,000 rubles ($53) to 20,000 rubles ($212) to the digital currency. 9% of those surveyed are open to storing 20,000 to 50,000 rubles ($212-$529) in CBDC, while 2% would consider amounts up to 100,000 rubles ($1,058). Only 2.4% are willing to go all-in with their money in the central bank’s digital currency.
The most common barriers cited include inadequate technology information (22%) and concerns about cyber theft and system glitches (21%).
On August 15, Russia began testing the digital ruble’s functionality. The pilot tests involve 13 banks and a limited group of their clients. The initial phase focuses on refining basic operations, prioritizing key processes like setting up and funding digital ruble accounts, facilitating peer-to-peer digital ruble transactions, streamlining automatic payments, and creatively using QR codes for seamless purchasing and service transactions.
According to the First Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Russia, Olga Skorobogatova, the bank’s strategy concerning the widespread use of the digital ruble is expected to be implemented between 2025 and 2027.