Nabiullina: after piloting, the digital ruble will be offered to all clients

The Central Bank is ready to start piloting the digital ruble. This was announced on April 18 by the Chairman of the Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina.

“We are ready to start piloting the digital ruble, that is, already conducting real transactions with real money, but these are now small amounts and a small number of clients,” she said.

According to the head of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, after the pilot, the digital ruble will be offered to all customers.

Nabiullina also reminded that the digital ruble is the third form of money. Consumers will be able to choose what form of Russian money they will use.

The Chairman of the Bank of Russia stressed that the digital ruble will allow free transfers, but it will not accrue interest.

“Cashless still will always be needed – it’s money in our accounts, interest is charged on it,” Nabiullina explained.

Earlier, the Central Bank reported that they intended to start testing the digital ruble with real customers in April 2023. Last year, testing of the main operations was carried out: opening wallets, transfers between citizens and paying for goods and services.

Recall that in October 2020 the Bank of Russia introduced the concept of a digital ruble. It will represent the third form of money, in addition to cash and non-cash rubles. The digital ruble will be in the form of a unique digital code that will be stored in the electronic wallet. With the help of this code, the digital ruble will be transferred from one user to another.