Elvira Nabiullina, the head of the Bank of Russia, has announced that the Central Bank is in talks with regulators from friendly nations to utilize digital rubles for cross-border payments. This move comes as many countries are exploring the use of digital currencies to facilitate faster and more efficient international transactions. Several countries with close ties to Russia have already initiated pilot projects involving central bank digital currencies. The digital ruble platform was designed with integration capabilities for similar platforms in other countries from the outset.
“We are currently engaging in consultations and negotiations with numerous friendly countries, including the BRICS nations, regarding cross-border payments using digital currencies. I believe that these initiatives will continue to develop in the future. As for cryptocurrencies, our stance is well-known: we are against their use in domestic payments. However, we support their application in foreign trade, although the bill that enables this is still under discussion in the State Duma,” mentioned Elvira Nabiullina.
It is important to note that the Republic of Belarus is also working on its own digital ruble project.