Odaily News: The Central Bank of Russia announced on Wednesday that it will collaborate with 13 banks to pilot the digital ruble starting next week, with the aim of expanding the scope of the pilot program.



In its statement, the Central Bank of Russia stated, "Launching a genuine pilot program for the digital ruble is the most important phase of this project. This will allow us to test the operation of the digital ruble platform in the industry environment, establish all necessary procedures with customer participation, adjust processes when necessary, and ensure that the customer journey is convenient and user-friendly."



Olga Skorobogatova, First Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Russia, stated in a separate statement that from 2025 onwards, citizens and businesses should be able to use the central bank's digital currency "according to their own requirements."



According to the announcement, the testing will take place within 13 banks and their limited customer base. The initial phase of the testing will focus on digital wallets, transfers between citizens, purchasing goods and services using QR codes, and simple automatic payments.



Specifically, the pilot participants will be able to use digital ruble payments in 30 retail outlets across 11 cities in Russia. By the end of this year, the Central Bank plans to expand the participation to citizens and businesses. (CoinDesk)



Earlier reports stated that Russian President Putin signed the digital ruble bill on July 24, which is scheduled to take effect on August 1, 2023, with all rules ready for implementation except for one provision. The third provision includes amendments to several federal laws in Russia, including bankruptcy and inheritance laws, expected to take effect in August next year.



The new legislation formally authorizes the Central Bank of Russia to launch the first pilot of the CBDC targeting real consumers in August. Previously, the government expected to collaborate with 13 local banks, including Sberbank, a major bank, to launch the pilot in April.