Russia may start testing its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), the digital ruble, as early as next month if approved by the country’s upper house and signed into law by President Vladimir Putin.
The Russian central bank will collaborate with 15 leading lending institutions in the country to implement the pilot program.
Individual transactions with the digital ruble will be free, while companies will incur a modest fee of 0.3%.
In a recent debate on the Digital Ruble, Zhuravlev – Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council of Russia, stated that the country needs “independent payment tools and financial information channels that can be used in our transactions with foreign partners.”
A former employee of the Central Bank of Russia, Alexandra Prokopenko, has pointed out that the Digital Ruble only facilitates domestic transactions as it is currently not linked to the systems of other countries.
If Russia proceeds with its digital ruble plans, it would align with a recent report by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) that predicts 15 retail CBDCs and 9 wholesale CBDCs by 2030.