Digital ruble pilot to cover up to several tens of thousands of people by end of 2025, then expand - Nabiullina

MOSCOW. April 9 (Interfax) - The number of participants in the digital ruble pilot will increase to several tens of thousands of people by the end of the current year, the governor of the Central Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina, said during a speech at the State Duma.

The digital ruble is the third form of the Russian national currency, which the Central Bank plans to issue in addition to the existing forms of money (cash and non-cash). The CBR has been conducting a pilot with real digital rubles since August 15, 2023. The mass rollout of the digital ruble was initially scheduled for July 1, 2025, but in late February Nabiullina announced that full-scale implementation would begin later, with specific dates to be announced by the regulator in due course.

"As for the digital ruble, we are preparing for a large-scale expansion of the experiment. We plan that by the end of this year it will cover up to several tens of thousands of people, and then continue to expand," Nabiullina said.

Alla Bakina, head of the CBR's National Payment System Department, said on April 1 that the number of individuals participating in the digital ruble pilot had grown from 500 at the start of the pilot in 2023 to 2,000 people, with 50 companies also involved; another 70 are expected to join soon. The number of person-to-person transfers on the platform has exceeded 55,000 transactions, around 15,000 payments for goods and services have been made, and more than 12,000 smart contracts have been executed.

Previously, Frank Media, citing top managers from four major players (both banks and vendors), said that the CBR is discussing full-scale implementation of the digital ruble with the largest banks starting from mid-2026.