What happened
- Specific facts/numbers: The Bank of Russia said the main digital ruble law took effect on 1 August 2023, pilot testing on real transactions would start in August 2023 with a limited number of clients at 13 banks, and broad adoption was expected from 2025. It also said retail transfers and payments for individuals would be free, merchant fees would be 0.3% of the payment amount, and business-to-business transfers would cost ₽15 from 1 January 2025.
- Institutions involved: The Bank of Russia is the operator of the digital ruble platform, while the State Duma adopted the core law and 13 banks were identified for the initial real-transaction pilot.
- Regulatory/technical context: The law establishes the digital ruble as a third form of the national currency alongside cash and non-cash rubles, places digital-ruble transactions and accounts under existing banking-secrecy requirements, and bars deposits, lending and interest accrual in digital-ruble wallets. The first pilot stage covered wallet opening, transfers, simple recurring payments and QR-code merchant payments.
- What to watch next: Watch for the staged completion of pilot testing through 2023 and 2024 and whether the Bank of Russia proceeds to broader rollout from 2025; no separate next milestone on privacy changes was identified in the official material read.
Why it matters
The story matters because Russia’s CBDC moved from concept to live pilot under a legal framework that gives the central bank direct operating responsibility, while clarifying that user confidentiality is anchored in banking-secrecy rules rather than cash-like anonymity.
HKMA Relevance
Indirect: Russia’s CBDC rollout adds to the global body of central-bank design choices on privacy, wallet structure and merchant acceptance that are relevant to Hong Kong’s own digital money and cross-border payments analysis.
Story details
Sources
- Primary source: https://cbr.ru/eng/press/event/?id=16900
- Secondary source: https://cbr.ru/eng/press/event/?id=16985