The Bank of Russia is testing its digital rouble platform

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation has begun testing the digital rouble platform and has completed a cycle of transfers between individual clients.

As part of the project’s first stage, the bank is conducting a series of tests on the issued digital roubles, and three banks from the pilot group have already connected to the platform. Out of these three banks, two of them completed a full cycle of digital rouble transfers between clients using banking mobile applications. 

Digital wallets were also introduced to the digital rouble platform, and clients were able to exchange non-cash roubles in their accounts for digital ones. Essentially, the first stage of the project involved issuing digital currencies, opening digital wallets, and enabling transfers between individual clients. 

The second stage will involve testing payments for goods and services at retail and service companies, as well as testing payments for public services and sales of smart contracts. Assessing the project’s interaction with the Federal Treasury is also planned for this stage. The bank is considering an offline mode for payments in places without access to the internet, as well as the possibility of conducting transactions with digital roubles for non-resident clients. 

Following these tests, the bank will compile a complete roadmap for the implementation of the digital rouble platform.

Bank of Russia to legalise crypto cross-border payments

In September 2022, the Bank of Russia has changed its initial position regarding crypto regulation and agreed with the finance ministry to legalise crypto for cross-border payments. The news was revealed during an interview by Deputy finance minister Alexei Moiseev, who highlighted the importance of enabling local crypto services in Russia, noting that many Russians rely on foreign platforms to open a crypto wallet. 

The Bank of Russia clarified that it still opposes legalising crypto payments within the country despite agreeing to make an exception for cross-border payments. The Russian Prime Minister, Mikhail Mishustin has also called on the government and the Bank of Russia to develop modern tools that meet the challenges of current times. 

In 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was still premature to use crypto for trades involving energy resources such as oil and gas. However, following the recent Western economic sanctions on Russia, the Minister of Industry and Trade declared that Russia would legalise crypto payments sooner or later. 

Bank of Russia governor Elvira Nabiullina also suggested that crypto can be used for cross-border payments, but only if crypto doesn’t make its way into Russia’s domestic financial system.