Digital ruble becomes available across Russia from September 1

In Russia, the digital rouble has been available to everyone since 1 September

From 1 September, major banks and retail chains will begin connecting to the digital rouble, and payments in it will become available to all residents of Russia. Prior to this, the digital currency had been operating in the country on a trial basis.

Photo - © Valery Lukin / Lori Photobank

All systemically important banks, as well as major credit institutions recognised by the Bank of Russia as significant in the payments services market, must provide customers with the opportunity to open digital wallets, transfer digital roubles and use them to pay for goods and services, explains RBC. At the same time, the obligation to accept digital roubles will apply to retail chains and companies whose annual turnover exceeds 120 million roubles.

However, for members of the public, the use of the digital rouble will remain voluntary, as Logos Press has previously reported. The RBC article also clarifies that digital wallets will not be opened automatically for anyone, and that salaries, pensions or other payments can only be transferred in this new form of money with the individual’s consent.

As the Bank of Russia’s press office informed RBC, all 12 systemically important banks are ready, from 1 September, to offer their customers the opportunity to open digital rouble accounts and carry out transactions using them: these banks are actively onboarding major retail companies. For example, the Lenta Group, Magnit, Fix Price, and the X5 Group’s stores (‘Pyaterochka’, ‘Perekrestok’ and ‘Chizhik’) have already announced that they will begin accepting digital roubles across all 75 regions where the company operates.

Risks and concerns

Although the digital currency is being launched in Russia with virtually no restrictions, experts are still debating what benefits this will bring to the economy and what new risks may arise for the banking system.

In particular, RBC notes that experts from the Higher School of Economics had previously predicted that the launch of the digital rouble could lead to an outflow of funds from bank accounts and deposits, particularly from smaller banks.

At the same time, the Central Bank of Russia believes that the introduction of the digital rouble may have a certain negative impact on liquidity in the banking sector, but there will be no significant shift of Russians’ savings into this new form of money.

As a precautionary measure, a limit has been set for individuals on the transfer of non-cash roubles to a digital wallet – no more than 300,000 roubles per month. Deposits and loans in digital roubles will not be available on the Central Bank’s platform; this will remain the responsibility of banks for the time being.

However, by 2029, the regulator plans to launch a trial of a model whereby digital wallets will be opened directly on banks’ balance sheets, enabling credit institutions to create products based on the digital rouble.

Transactions involving the digital rouble will be free of charge for individuals. For businesses, all transactions involving the digital rouble will be free of charge only until the end of 2026. From 1 January 2027, the commission for accepting payments from individuals will be 0.3 per cent (but not exceeding 1,500 roubles), for organisations in the housing and utilities sector — 0.2 per cent (but not exceeding 10 roubles), and for transfers between legal entities, the commission will be 15 roubles. This is lower than the acquiring fee, which stands at around 1.5–2.5 per cent, and the fee for accepting payments via the SPB system (around 0.4–0.7 per cent).