Belarus to introduce digital ruble in H2 2026 - NBB

MINSK. April 17 (Interfax) - Belarus plans to fully roll out a digital ruble in the second half of 2026, the governor of the National Bank of Belarus (NBB), Roman Golovchenko said.

"In the second half of 2026 the digital ruble will already be put into full-fledged circulation. Economic agents will already be able to use it. By 2027 we plan for it to become accessible to both government agencies and individuals," Golovchenko said on TV channel Belarus 1.

There is potential for using the digital currency in mutual settlements with Russia, he said.

"In this regard, by the way, we are cooperating very closely with the Russian Federation, which is also on its way to creating its own digital ruble. But it's very important that these currencies, as they say, communicate with one another and that we're able to carry out cross-border transactions. Now, concurrently with the creation of infrastructure for the Belarusian digital ruble, we're already also working on a joint plan of action to use these instruments in mutual settlements," Golovchenko said.

"The digital ruble is among our priorities. We're actively working on its creation. Foremost, of course, we face the issue of safeguarding funds. This is a matter of what I call the 'dyeability' of these funds, meaning it will be very important for the government, for example, to be able to track how digital money passes through the whole chain," Golovchenko said.