“The development of the digital ruble technology is progressing and will continue to do so. I am confident that next year, we will all have the opportunity to open a digital wallet and make payments using this new currency. It is the same ruble, which can also be converted into physical cash or non-cash rubles… This represents the strength of our Russian ruble,” a high-ranking official stated.
The Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of the Russian Federation plan to initially test the usage of digital rubles for government expenses.
“As civil servants, we are highly interested in this. With digital rubles, it is impossible to engage in theft, as it has a clear purpose and we know that if the ruble is designated for maternity capital, for example, it will be spent solely for that purpose. There are no fraudulent activities or schemes involved, something that can happen with traditional currencies,” explained the minister.
Recently, the Russian State Duma passed amendments to the Tax Code, allowing for the integration of digital rubles into the tax system. This includes the introduction of the concept of a “digital ruble account,” which will serve as a separate type of bank account.
Authorities reported that since the start of the digital ruble pilot project in August, the Bank of Russia has already conducted nearly 14,000 transactions across 11 cities in the country.