“Indeed, there is no digital ruble yet, but the myths around it are multiplying. If we talk about ‘total surveillance’, which opponents of the digital ruble scare at every turn, then I would like to ask why this question does not arise with regard to non-cash payments,” Skorobogatova says.
The official reminds that non-cash funds also leave their mark;
“It is important to note: all transactions with digital rubles will be protected by bank secrecy in the same way as non-cash transactions,” the Central Bank deputy chairman assures.
Skorobogatova assured that the authorities have no plans to replace cash rubles with digital ones:
“All three forms will exist and will be available to citizens and companies. The choice of which form to use will be entirely voluntary. You can instantly convert digital rubles into non-cash rubles – by transferring them from your wallet to your bank account. And then withdraw cash from an ATM machine. And vice versa. Moreover, if you don’t want to use digital rubles, you can simply not open your wallet.”
The Bank of Russia has already published data protection requirements for financial institutions that will work with the state-owned digital currency.
One by one, commercial banks are confirming their participation in the CBDC project. Rosbank assured that it has all the necessary infrastructure to conduct operations on real clients. Promsvyazbank confirmed that it has joined the first pilot group to test the digital ruble. Bank Sinara, TCB and DOM.RF have also announced their plans for the project. Cellular operator MTS has also confirmed its participation in the project;