Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina declared on Thursday that the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) – digital ruble – is prepared for widespread adoption, two months before a September 1 deadline.
Speaking in St Petersburg, Nabiullina said “everything is ready for the wide use of the digital ruble,” adding that “systemically important banks and large retailers will need to join in to accept it” as the cutoff approaches.
She also pointed to ongoing efforts to make the currency attractive to everyday users. “We want the digital ruble to be in demand by people and businesses, to be convenient, and, of course, we’re constantly discussing ….. what functionality to develop,” Nabiullina said.
President Vladimir Putin signed the legislation authorising it three years ago, and the project has been in development since 2021, rolling out in phases since then.
The September 1, 2026 deadline applies specifically to retailers that bank with major institutions and recorded more than 120 million rubles in revenue last year. A second wave follows on September 1, 2027, covering banks with a universal license and their retail clients above 30 million rubles in revenue. The smallest businesses, those under 5 million rubles, are exempt entirely. Twelve systemically important banks are expected to support the currency from the first deadline.
To encourage commercial banks to push digital ruble salary payments, the central bank plans to pay them 0.67 rubles, less than one cent, for each such transaction processed.
